Team Lead for the HABITS Series

Scott Rush is the team lead for the Habits series published by GIA and is a graduate of the New England Conservatory of Music. He has served as a clinician throughout the United States and Canada and is the author or co-author of fourteen highly touted books in music education, including, Habits of a Successful Band Director, Habits of a Significant Band Director, Habits of a Successful Middle School Band Director, Habits of a Successful Beginner Band Musician, Habits of a Successful Middle School Musician, Habits of a Successful Musician, and Pathway to Success: Habits for Creating a Culture of Excellence in Band, Choir, and Orchestra. He is the former Director of Bands at Wando High School.

Strings Lead for the HABITS Series

Dr. Christopher Selby is a 30-year veteran public school orchestra teacher, and he is the lead string author of the Habits of a Successful String Musician method book series published by GIA. He is an active clinician and conductor, and has presented sessions at numerous Midwest Clinics, American String Teacher Association (ASTA) National Conferences, and state conferences across America. Dr. Selby currently directs the high school orchestras at the School of the Arts in Charleston, SC. His orchestras have performed at the Midwest Clinic and have twice won the top award of Grand Champion at ASTA’s National Orchestra Festival.

Dr. Selby earned a music education degree from the Hartt School of Music, and a Masters and Doctor of Musical Arts degrees in Orchestral Conducting from the University of South Carolina. He regularly guest conducts Regional and All-State Orchestras across America, and he has held state and national leadership positions in ASTA and NAfME. In addition to the Habits string method book series, Dr. Selby is also the author of Habits of a Successful Orchestra Director, Music Theory for the Successful String Musician, and a contributing author for Teaching Music Through Performance in Orchestra, vol. 4 and other books published by GIA.

Middle School Strings Lead for the Habits Series

Margaret Selby is the orchestra director and 2020 Teacher of the Year at Laing Middle School in Charleston County (SC) where her program grew from 42 to 215 students in five years. She earned her Bachelor’s degree in Music Education and her Master’s degree in Music Performance from the University of South Carolina. Mrs. Selby’s orchestras have participated in SCMEA Concert Performance Assessment and other festivals in the southeast, earning superior ratings.

She has been a guest conductor for the West Virginia Junior All-State Orchestra, multiple region orchestras across South Carolina and North Carolina, and was the conductor of the Charleston County Honors Orchestra from 2012-16. She has adjudicated orchestras in Las Vegas and South Carolina, and has been a clinician for the Texas Orchestra Directors Association, Dorchester County String teachers, the Univ. of SC String Teacher Workshop, and SC Region and All-State Orchestra cello sectionals. She is a contributing author of Rehearsing the Middle School Orchestra, published by Meredith Music and distributed by GIA Publications, Inc. She co-presented at the 2019 Midwest Band and Orchestra Clinic in Chicago and the 2021, 2020 and 2012 ASTA National Conference. Mrs. Selby is the 2017-18 String Educator of the Year awarded by Southern String Supply.

She has served as the President for the South Carolina Music Educators Association Orchestra Division, a former Secretary/Treasurer for the ASTA of South Carolina, and is currently the SCMEA Orchestra Division Region 4 Representative. She has performed with the South Carolina Philharmonic, the Charleston Symphony, and regularly as a freelance cellist. She is also a registered Suzuki cello teacher. Mrs. Selby lives in Mt. Pleasant, SC with her husband and their two children. She enjoys running and sampling Charleston’s many amazing restaurants.

Choir Lead for the HABITS Series

Eric Wilkinson is the director of the Wando High School Choir program in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, and is the choir lead for the Habits series. He is the author of Habits of a Successful Choir Director and a highly touted method book, Habits of a Successful Choral Musician published by GIA. He is sought after as a clinician throughout the United States and was awarded the Milken Family Foundation National Educator Award in 2007.

Middle School Band Lead for the HABITS Series

Jeff Scott is the former Director of Bands at Cario Middle School in Mount Pleasant, SC, where held that position from 2001 until his retirement in 2023. He is a graduate of the University of Kentucky and received a Master of Instrumental Music in Conducting at Southern Oregon University. He was awarded National Board Certification in 2005 and 2015. In 2020, he was named Phi Beta Mu “South Carolina Bandmaster of the Year”.

Mr. Scott is co-author of the highly touted books Habits of a Successful Middle School Band Director, Habits of a Successful Middle School Musician, and Habits of a Successful Beginner Band Musician published by GIA Publications.

Leadership and Education

Tim Lautzenheiser is a well-known name in the music education world as a teacher, clinician, author, composer, consultant, and above all, a trusted friend to anyone interested in working with young people to create a culture of excellence. He is the author of several books for GIA, including Pathway to Success, Classic Leadership, Leadership 2, Everyday Wisdom for Inspired Teaching, Music Advocacy and Student Leadership, The Joy of Inspired Teaching, and The Art of Successful Teaching.

Upbeat Mindset in Music Education

Dr. Matthew Arau, founder of Upbeat Global, is the Chair of the Music Education Department and Associate Director of Bands at the Lawrence University Conservatory of Music in Appleton, Wisconsin. In addition, Dr. Arau is on the faculty of the American Band College of Central Washington University and VanderCook College of Music. He also serves as a Conn-Selmer Education Clinician, and as Member-at-Large on the NAfME Council for Band Education.

Jeffrey Grogan is an internationally-acclaimed conductor and teacher, currently serving as Director of Orchestral Activities at the Bass School of Music at Oklahoma City University and Artistic Director of the Oklahoma Youth Orchestras. Grogan’s recent work includes conducting at the Musikverein in Vienna, Sydney Opera House, Harpa Concert Hall in Iceland, and in Bangkok and Singapore. Grogan serves as a Master Educator for the Yamaha Corporation of America and is on the Advisory Committees of the Midwest Clinic and Music for All.

He has also served as the visionary for TeachMusic, a coalition formed to help find resources and solutions to the challenges facing the music educator workforce, working to retain, shepherd, and recruit the next generation of music educators. TeachMusic works with industry partners, including the American Choral Directors Association, the American String Teachers Association, Music for All, the National Association for Music Education, the National Federation of State High School Associations, the NAMM Foundation, and many others. For several summers, he was invited by the LA Philharmonic to conduct alongside Gustavo Dudamel at Disney Hall, a part of the Youth Orchestras of Los Angeles National Festival. Following his passion for performing and helping to create new music for orchestras, he has collaborated with many composers such as Omar Thomas, Amanda Harberg, Lowell Liebermann, Michael Colgrass, Eric Whitacre, Steven Stucky, and Scott McAllister – as well as soloists Richard Stolzman, Stefan Hoskuldsson, Julian Schwarz, the Boston Brass, and the Canadian Brass.

Grogan worked in studio and on several projects with violinist and composer Mark O’Connor, recording O’Connor’s March of the Gypsy Fiddler with the Ahn Trio and New Jersey Youth Symphony on OMAC Records; a recording which is played on classical music radio throughout the country. Grogan previously served eleven seasons as Education and Community Engagement Conductor of the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, and as Conductor and Artistic Director of the NJSO Youth Orchestras, the InterSchool Orchestras of New York and the New Jersey Youth Symphony. He was the founding Artistic Director of two El Sistema inspired programs in New Jersey: CHAMPS and the Paterson Music Project. Grogan taught for over a decade at the University of Michigan, Ithaca College, and Baylor University and is the former Associate Director of Bands and Marching Band Director at the University of Michigan and Baylor University.

Mallory Thompson is Director of Bands Emeritus at Northwestern University. During her tenure, as only the third person in the university’s history to hold the director of bands position, Thompson conducted the Symphonic Wind Ensemble, taught undergraduate and graduate conducting, and administered all aspects of the band program.  She made five recordings with the Northwestern University Symphonic Wind Ensemble on the Summit Records label, which are available for streaming on Spotify and Apple Music. Thompson led the Symphonic Wind Ensemble in performances at the College Band Directors National Association national conventions in 2001 and 2017, and has earned praise from many composers, including John Adams, Michael Colgrass, John Corigliano, Jennifer Higdon, Karel Husa, Morten Lauridsen, David Maslanka, Jonathan Newman, Carter Pann, Joel Puckett, Kevin Puts, and Adam Schoenberg.  She continues to serve as Artistic Director of the Northshore Concert Band.

Thompson received the Bachelor of Music Education degree and Master of Music degree in conducting from Northwestern University, where she studied conducting with John P. Paynter and trumpet with Vincent Cichowicz.  She received the Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the Eastman School of Music, where she studied with Donald Hunsberger.

Maintaining an active schedule as a guest conductor, conducting teacher, and guest lecturer throughout the United States and Canada, Thompson has had the privilege of teaching conducting to thousands of undergraduates, graduate students, and professional educators.  She has served as a conductor and clinician at the College Band Directors National Association regional and national conventions, the Midwest Clinic, the Interlochen Arts Academy, numerous state music conventions, the Aspen Music Festival, and the Boston University Tanglewood Institute.  In addition to conducting all-state ensembles throughout the United States, she has had professional engagements as guest conductor with the United States Air Force Band, the United States Ar Band “Pershing’s Own,” the United States Army Field Band, the United States Coast Guard Band, the United States Navy Band, the West Point Band, the Dallas Wind Symphony, Symphony Silicon Valley, the Detroit Chamber Winds and Strings, Monarch Brass Ensemble, Banda Sinfonica in Sao Paulo, Brazil, and Banda Municipal de Barcelona.  In 2019 she was awarded the Medal of Honor by the Midwest Clinic in recognition of her service to music education and continuing influence on the development and improvement of bands and orchestras worldwide.

Dr. Thompson is especially proud of her 58 graduate conducting students and the hundreds of outstanding Symphonic Wind Ensemble members with whom she has had the job of making music at Northwestern.  She continues to treasure her relationship with the “Wildcat” Marching Band and is honored to have been able to preserve, develop, and contribute to the legacy of Northwestern Bands.

Educational Consultant for the Habits Series

Marguerite Wilder is widely recognized as a conductor and clinician, having conducted honor bands throughout the United States, Canada, England, Italy, Turkey, and Australia. Serving as a resource person for in-service sessions, she works with both local and regional school systems and universities. Her clinics on motivational techniques for beginning band are often featured at national conferences.

Percussion Lead for the Habits Series

Kevin Boyle is Associate Director of Bands at Tapp Middle School in Cobb County, Georgia, and is the percussion lead for the Habits series published by GIA. He has written student percussion books for Habits of a Successful Musician, Habits of a Successful Middle School Musician, and Habits of a Successful Beginner Band Musician.

Habits of Succcessful Young String Musicians

Sarah Ball has been teaching orchestra for twenty seven years, currently at North Gwinnett Middle School in Sugar Hill, Ga, where she is one of two orchestra directors. The NGMS orchestra program has 575 students enrolled in grades 6-8. The 8th grade orchestra was selected to perform at GMEA in January (2012 and 2024), and received the GMEA Exemplary Performance Award in 2009 and 2015. In December 2013, the NGMS Honor Orchestra was one of three middle school orchestras selected internationally to perform in Chicago, Illinois at the Midwest International Band and Orchestra Clinic, and has performed at Carnegie Hall. The NGMS music department was awarded the inaugural Exemplary Program Award from GMEA (2017-18).’

Mrs. Ball holds a Bachelor of Music Education from Appalachian State University and a Master’s in Curriculum and Instruction from Lesley University. She was named the NGMS Teacher of the Year for 2011-12 and was selected as the middle school Teacher of the Year for Gwinnett County. In 2018, Mrs. Ball was chosen as the GA ASTA String Educator of the year and was awarded with the Elizabeth A. H. Green award by the American String Teacher’s Association in March of 2023. She has served as state treasurer and president for GA-ASTA, has served on the national board as member at large, and is currently the K-12 orchestra curriculum committee chair. Mrs. Ball was the GMEA Orchestra Division Chair, and has also served as Vice President for All-State events. She has held school leadership roles as curriculum and department chair at both Lanier MS and NGMS. Mrs. Ball has presented professional development sessions at the school, county, state and national level including the national ASTA conference and The Ohio State University String Teacher’s Workshop. She co-authored a chapter in “Rehearsing the School Orchestra” and Volume 4 of Teaching Music Through Performance in Orchestra. She is active as a clinician, adjudicator, and conductor throughout the country. In addition, she is has been on the staff of the GA-ASTA camp for 15 years and serves as a mentor at the local and county level. Mrs. Ball started violin at the age of 10 in the Henderson County Strings Program (Hendersonville, NC) and currently resides in Johns Creek, Georgia with her husband Jerrod, and their cats, Topsy and Turvy. 

Christine Wolf serves as the Director of Bands at Central Davis Junior High, in Layton, Utah and has been teaching junior high band for 29 years. Mrs. Wolf teaches the Beginning Woodwinds, Brass and Percussion, Advanced Percussion, Concert Band, Symphonic Band and Jazz Band. Mrs. Wolf is the Past-President of the Utah Bandmasters Association. She is also the Music Education Advocacy Chair for the Utah Music Educators Association where she has organized and produced the Utah Music on the Hill events on behalf of raising awareness for music education in the State of Utah. Mrs. Wolf is the Utah Chapter President of the Women Band Directors International Organization. She was named one of School Band and Orchestra Magazine’s 50 Directors Who Make a Difference in 2017.

Mrs. Wolf has received numerous National Band Association Citation of Excellence awards. She has been a contributing author for the UMEA Journal and is an active clinician across the United States with all state bands, honor bands, summer camps and festival adjudications. Under Mrs. Wolf’s direction, the Central Davis Junior High Symphonic Band was invited to perform at the 2018 Utah Music Educator’s Conference in St. George, Utah. The Central Davis Junior High Band Program is a 2018 Division Finalist for the National Band Association’s Programs of Excellence Blue Ribbon Award. Alongside her husband and Director of Bands, Heath Wolf, Mrs. Wolf assisted, and guest conducted the Farmington Junior High Symphonic Band and Jazz Band at The Midwest Clinic in 2011 and 2018, the Music for All National Concert Band Festival in 2009 and 2015, and the Utah Music Educators Association Mid-Winter Conference in 2007 and 2014.

Mrs. Wolf and her band program have been featured in three different publications. Two of the publications are the books Rehearsing the Middle School Band by Stephen Meyer and Life Habits of a Successful Musician by Scott Rush. In May of 2017, Matthew Arau of Lawrence University, wrote an article in The Instrumentalist Magazine entitle “Growth Mindset” where he featured some of the educational concepts that Mrs. Wolf uses in her band room. Mrs. Wolf has presented at numerous Music Education conferences, including the Midwest Clinic and multiple presentations at the Utah Music Educators Conference. She has been featured in The Growing Band Directors Podcast and written blogposts on intonation and clarinet development for the Make Music Power Up Series.

Mrs. Wolf earned a Bachelor of Music Education degree from the University of Utah and a Master of Music Education Degree at Brigham Young University. She teaches private lessons in a large clarinet studio, and her high school students are well represented in the Utah All-State Band at both the Junior High and High School level. Mrs. Wolf is a member of the Utah Music Educators Association, National Band Association, and the Utah Bandmasters Association and Women Band Directors International. Mrs. Wolf is married to band director, Heath Wolf and together they have four amazing children.

Tara Melvin is an Orlando, Florida native. She was the Associate Band Director at Avalon Middle School in Orange County from 2010-2017 and maintained a band program of 500 students.  She holds a double bachelor;s in music education and music performance (Flute). She also received her master’s in music with an emphasis in conducting with Dr. Scott Tobias.

Mrs. Melvin is now the Band Director at Awtrey Middle School in Cobb County, GA since 2017. In her time at Awtrey, her bands have consistently received superior ratings, and her top ensemble was selected to perform at the 2020 GMEA Conference. In 2022, her top band was selected to perform at the Music For All Southeastern Concert Festival, and in 2024, the Awtrey Band Program was recognized as a Music For All Advocacy in Action recipient for recruitment, retention, and engagement. The Awtrey band currently has over 300 students, which is half of the entire school population. 

Mrs. Melvin has appeared as a guest conductor for various honor band events across Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, and Florida. She currently lives in Acworth, GA with her husband Josh and dog Odie.