The Band Director's Lounge

#24: Geneva Fitzsimonds – Edina, MN

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Today’s conversation is with Geneva Fitzsimonds who teaches in Edina, MN.

Geneva is a master at teaching band but especially to middle school aged kids. Her bands and jazz bands have performed at festivals across the region including the MMEA Middle Level Conference and the MMEA Mid-Winter Clinic.Geneva has served on the MMEA Board of Directors as a region representative, is past president of the MN Chapter of the American School Band Directors Association, and is president elect of the Minnesota Band Directors Association. As if that wasn’t enough, she is highly involved as one of the conductors of the Minnesota Junior Winds – a high performing auditioned twin cities based ensemble for 7-12th graders.

We are going to dive into our interview in just a second, but first I want to mention that this episode is brought to you by Audible.

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Okay now onto my conversation with Geneva.

Episode Overview

  • Background (01:55)
  • Edina High School (16:12)
  • Building a Better Middle School Band (17:37)
  • Creating Success for Double Reed Players (32:00)
  • Favorite Literature (36:15)
  • Recruitment (41:26)
  • Advice for Female Band Directors (46:50)
  • Book that Impacted Teaching (54:00)
  • Advice for Band Directors (55:10)
  • What Makes a Great Band Program? (56:50)

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Thanks again for tuning in, I will see you back here next time in The Band Director’s Lounge.

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