The Importance of College Preparation for New Band Directors

When reflecting on his early years as a band director, Robert Saladin highlights the need for more practical experiences during college to better prepare new directors. He emphasizes that the real-world challenges and responsibilities of being a director differ greatly from the perspective of a college student. Saladin regrets not having more exposure to effective program management, ensemble setup, and rehearsal planning during his college years. He believes that having a set process and understanding these aspects before the first day of teaching would have been immensely beneficial for his initial classroom experiences.