Helping students find their rhythm at ACC

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October 17, 2017 - 12:00 AM

Thursday night Jeffrey Anderson will debut as Allen Community College’s new music instructor.
Anderson and choir director Alexis Lowder will lead their respective bands and choirs in a 7 p.m. performance in the Creitz Recital Hall of the Bowlus Fine Arts Center.
Anderson teaches four classes, including concert band, jazz/pep band, music fundamentals and music appreciation. He also offers private lessons and directed the music for the school’s recent musical, “She Loves Me.”
“I think Thursday’s concert will be fun,” Anderson said. “The students have come a long way and they are beginning to understand the level I expect them to be. They enjoy the music and I’ve heard comments that they like the selections I’ve chosen.”
Anderson said his students are doing a good job of listening to each other when trying to blend their sounds and intonation in harmony.
He said he appreciates that majority of his students are attending ACC on scholarships and how that motivates them to keep their grades up.
Anderson is adjusting to multiple responsibilities including recruiting future students to join the band. 
“I didn’t realize how big that part of the job is,” Anderson said. “It’s a constant thing. You’re always looking at students who are looking toward the future. I’ve been coming up with something creative and outside the box in order to recruit.”
He said some students are advanced in their musical studies as evidence by qualifying for the  High School Kansas All-State band, while others do not know how to read music and play by ear.
The concert band consists of eight students while the combined jazz and pep band has 10 members. Anderson’s music appreciation class has the most students with 15.
“It’s a lot of pressure, but it’s really rewarding because I’m seeing the fruits of my labor more than I ever had before,” Anderson said about his new role. “I get to see the whole of the class from conception to lesson planning to implementing and grading.”

ANDERSON is originally from DeWitt, Mich. and attended several schools prior to joining ACC. He earned an undergraduate music education degree at Michigan State University and a master’s degree from Bowling Green State University in clarinet performance.
Last May, he graduated from the University of Cincinnati – College-Conservatory of Music with a doctor of musical arts degree. He served as a teaching assistant for three years before being part of the ACC staff.
In the long term, Anderson wants to help redesign the band room at ACC and make changes to the facility.
Though Anderson has only begun his tenure at ACC, he wants his teaching to make a lasting impact.
“I want to grow the program and see it flourish,” Anderson said. “I want students to take pride in what they have in their ensembles.”

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