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.

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. 

Habits of Succcessful Young String Musicians

Jonathan Glawe serves as Director of Orchestras at Pioneer High School in Ann Arbor, Michigan and is the orchestra representative for the Servant Leadership Association for Music (SLAM).

He holds a Bachelor of Music Education from the University of Kansas and a Masters Degree in Music Education from the University of Oregon. Prior to his time in Oregon, Glawe taught in the Darien Publics Schools in Darien, Connecticut.

 As a clinician, Glawe has presented clinics on a wide variety of topics all over the country. Some of these include a presentation on the topic of double bass bows at the Connecticut Music Educators Association in 2006, a “Jazz String Curricula and History” lecture at the University of Kansas in 2008, an “Alternative Styles Pre-Conference Panel Discussion” for National ASTA in Atlanta in 2009, and 2 clinics panels for National ASTA in 2011 on the topics of “Effective Use of Student Leadership” and “Alternative Styles Curricula.” In 2013, he presented a solo clinic entitled: “From a Classical Power House to an Eclectic Curriculum: Trials and Tribulations of High School Orchestra Programs in Transition” at the National ASTA Conference in Providence, RI. Glawe has also done a wide variety of guest conducting appearances with youth ensembles in and around Michigan. 

Habits of Succcessful Music Education Students

Mary Land is the Associate Professor Music Education at Western Michigan University. Prior to this appointment, she was Director of Bands and Instrumental Music Education at Young Harris College in Young Harris, Georgia. Before those positions, Land was a public-school band director in Georgia. She received her Educational Doctorate from the University of Georgia. Land received her Bachelor of Music Education degree from the University of Georgia and her Master of Music Education degree from Vandercook College of Music in Chicago, Illinois. She has served the Georgia Music Educators Association in various state and local offices. Her professional affiliations include: MSBOA, NAfME, IAJE, CBDNA, and Delta Kappa Gamma Society International Professional Teacher Association. Land is a member of the National Band Association and has served as a national representative on the NBA executive board of director.

Land is published in the journals for the National Band Association, The Instrumentalist, Teaching Music (NAfME), School Band and Orchestra Journal, and the GIA series Teaching Music Through Performance in Band. Commissioning projects include works by Sam Hazo, Bill Locklear, Barry Kopetz, and Christopher Tucker. Bands under Land’s direction have received invitations to perform at many music conferences and clinics.

Dr. Rebecca Phillips is Professor of Music and Director of Bands at Colorado State University where she conducts the CSU Wind Symphony and guides all aspects of the band and graduate wind conducting programs. Prior to this appointment, she served as the Associate Director of Bands and Director of Athletic Bands at the University of South Carolina where she was responsible for directing the Symphonic Winds Concert Band, “The Mighty Sound of the Southeast” Carolina Marching Band, “Concocktion” Pep Bands, teaching undergraduate instrumental conducting, and directing the Carolina Summer Drum Major Clinic. 

Dr. Phillips believes in treasuring the traditional wind music of the past as well as promoting cutting edge works of today’s finest composers. She has commissioned and conducted world and consortium premieres of works by several leading composers, including William Bolcom, James David, John Mackey, John Fitz Rogers, Adam Silverman, Frank Ticheli, and Dana Wilson to name a few. Her conducting performances of David del Tredici’s In Wartime and John Mackey’s Redline Tango are both featured on the nationally distributed Louisiana State University Wind Ensemble compact disc project and the world premiere of John Fitz Rogers Narragansett is featured on the Compact Disc And I Await, featuring Dr. Phillips as guest conductor of the University of South Carolina Wind Ensemble.

Jabarie Glass is the Associate Director of Choral Studies at the University of South Carolina, where he conducts University Chorus and Gamecock Chorale and teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in conducting and choral pedagogy. Glass’s varied conducting experiences have included working with university, secondary, community youth, festival, and church ensembles. Choral organizations under his leadership have been selected to perform at the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA) Southern Region Conference, the Mississippi-ACDA Conference, and the South Carolina Music Educators Association Conference.

Glass previously served as Director of Choirs at Southaven High School and Middle School, conductor of the Michigan Youth Chamber Singers, as well as the founding conductor of CoroFuente, the tenor-bass chorus of CoroRio, a youth and adult community choral organization for which he currently serves on the board of directors. As a dedicated advocate for student access to quality music education, Glass is passionate about sharing the knowledge gained from his experience working with young musicians with current and future choral practitioners. Furthermore, he continues to invest in the musical growth of young choral artists through clinics with secondary choral programs and conducting honor choruses. 

Empowering Student Success through Daily Habits in the Classroom

Why the HABITS Series Works!