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Become a Music Ed Insights patron on Podbean!
Insiders will receive: A shout out on the next episode we record, access to ad-free episodes, an invitation to a monthly insider-only Zoom meeting with Alan and Steve, and at least one bonus insider-only episode each month.

Recent Episodes:
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Classic Episode Re-Release: Lee Nelson on Choral Literature – and Way More!
Director of the Wartburg ChoirRitterchor/Zahn Chair in Choral Conducting Dr. Lee Nelson holds the Patricia R. Zahn Chair in choral conducting and serves as the director of choral activities at Wartburg College in Waverly, Iowa. Nelson conducts the Wartburg Choir and Ritterchor (tenor/bass choir) and teaches choral literature, beginning conducting and advanced conducting courses at … Read more
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Quick Pro Tip: When to Be Human… and When to Be Transactional
Alan and Steve explore a surprising communication skill for music educators: knowing when to write warm, story-driven messages—and when to strip things down to simple, factual, policy-based communication. They talk about how over-explaining can actually weaken your position with parents, administrators, and outside entities, and offer practical examples of short, clear, “transactional” language that still … Read more
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Quick Pro Tip: Handling Angry Parents Without Losing Your Cool
Alan and Steve tackle one of the toughest parts of the job: responding to upset parents by email, text, phone, or conference. They walk through how to move emotional conversations to the right channel, listen and summarize without getting defensive, name a shared goal for the student, set clear boundaries around what you can and … Read more


