Mary Crandell

Bio:

A graduate of the University of South Dakota (BA and MM), Mary Crandell started her instrumental music career in Le Center, Minnesota, and Clear Lake, Iowa, before her tenure began at Waukee Middle School from 2004 to 2023. After moving to Boise, Idaho in July of 2023, Mary currently teaches part time in the West Ada School District, specifically at Eagle High School, where she facilitates sectional rehearsals in jazz and wind band pedagogy. Along with this teaching assignment, Mary is starting her doctoral work in Curriculum and Instruction with an emphasis in Instrumental Music at Boise State University.

Mary was the first woman to serve as Jazz Educators of Iowa President and in 2016, created the Middle School Jazz Combo Workshop, an annual event for middle school jazz students in the state. Mary serves in leadership roles for the Iowa Bandmasters Association (IBA), where she is currently the Immediate Past President and Past State Historian. Nationally, Mary is serving on The National Band Association (NBA) IDEA Committee. She is a member of the following: IBA, Jazz Educators of Iowa (JEI), Jazz Education Network (JEN), Idaho Music Educators Association (IMEA), Iowa Alliance for Arts Education (IAAE), Women Band Directors International (WBDI), NBA, and is a ten-year Veteran of the ARNG. Mary has also been a guest conductor for numerous honor band festivals in Iowa and Nebraska. Most recently, Mary conducted the New Mexico State University / Las Cruces All-City Public School Honor Band and the Boise (ID) School District Junior High Honor Band Clinic.

The Waukee Middle School Concert Bands have consistently been awarded first place or runner-up in the annual Adventureland Junior High Festival of Bands, Adventureland Park, Altoona, Iowa. WMS Jazz Bands have earned consistent division I or I+ ratings at district jazz festivals, and in 2011, was chosen to perform (through blind audition) at the Iowa Bandmasters Annual Conference. Mary and her colleague, Deb Dunn, have presented sessions on Embedding Jazz into the Beginning Band Program at state conferences and at the 2015, National Association for Music Education Conference in Nashville, Tennessee. An article printed in the August 2017, SBO (School Band & Orchestra Publication) featured Mary and Deb’s band rehearsal techniques at Waukee Middle School. The duo has presented Rehearsal Techniques for Middle School Concert Bands at the state and national levels. Mary collaborated with three additional Iowa band directors on an extensive jazz education presentation, Part One: Nuts and Bolts of Teaching Beginning Jazz Band: How to Select, Set-up and Rehearse AND Part Two: Nuts and Bolts of Teaching Beginning Jazz Improvisation: Multiple Approaches to Fit Your Objectives, at the 2019 Iowa Bandmasters Association Annual Conference. The WMS Jazz Combo was the demonstration group for that session and was chosen to perform a lobby concert at the conference, featuring jazz saxophonist, Jarrard Harris. The WMS Jazz Combo also co-presented a session at the Talented and Gifted Annual State Conference in the fall of 2019, entitled, Unexpected Connections: Gifted Learners and Jazz Ensemble, which sought to demonstrate how young jazz musicians make meaningful connections across varying approaches, while using the jazz combo format and improvisation as the vehicle.

In 2022, the Waukee Middle School Band commissioned and premiered Dymaxion by composer, Dr. James M. David (Colorado State University). The WMS Band has embarked on another journey in 2023, premiering Tesseract, also by Dr. James M. David. These pieces have been an avenue for students to go beyond the notes on the page in creating stories, poems, models, connection with a living composer, and building a strong seventh grade band community.

Mary strives to create an environment of purposeful learning, in which students can enhance their musical performance to the best of their capabilities while enjoying the music-making process together. Mary and colleague, Deb, co-authored and published Building from the Ground Up: A Successful Blueprint for Band Programs (Publisher ID:079-6203-00) which has manifested from seventeen years of collaborative teaching incorporating what we do, how we do it and why. Most recently, the pair presented a teaching session at the 2021 International Midwest Band and Orchestra Conference under the same title. Presenting workshops for developing teachers have been prevalent throughout the years and continue to be guideposts, connecting people through music and helping to instill a passion for teaching music! Upon Deb’s retirement in 2021, Sarah McEntee, a former student of Mary and Deb, currently fulfills Deb’s role at Waukee Middle School, continuing the WMS legacy.

Mary is the founder and facilitator of The Access Collective: Creating Connections Through Music (formerly known as the Iowa Bandmasters Association (IBA) Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Awareness (IDEA) Initiative). The Collective is in partnership with the Iowa Bandmasters Association, The National Band Association, and the educational team from Music for All. Working together, the trifecta serves band students, led by professional band directors passionate about IDEA values within their programs. Iowa band directors work directly with music specialists outside the state of Iowa to advance creative thinking, enhancing a culture of IDEA among teachers and students through class collaboration, all the while creating an environment that upholds humanity while observing legislative protocols.

Mary’s daily life thrives on her passion and drive for teaching music through the band experience. Her passion for inspiring young students to engage their creativity through the arts is exemplified through her first two published books: Little Miss Mary Discovers Music Outside Her Window (ISBN: 9781499022179) and Little Miss Mary Discovers the Piano (ISBN:9781503580008). When Mary is not teaching or writing, she enjoys yoga, exploring eclectic venues with friends, playing trombone, spending time with her mom, Cheryl, a longtime band director, and husband, Myron Peterson, Director of Bands, at Boise State University.