Brenton Hund Podcast

11. Gary Fagan: Educator; Conductor; Composer; Drummer; Vocalist -- On the Secrets of Teaching Band at Henley Middle School in Virginia for 32 Years; Composing and Publishing Over 100 Orchestral Pieces; and Dreams of Being a Professional Drummer.

June 11, 2021
Brenton Hund Podcast
11. Gary Fagan: Educator; Conductor; Composer; Drummer; Vocalist -- On the Secrets of Teaching Band at Henley Middle School in Virginia for 32 Years; Composing and Publishing Over 100 Orchestral Pieces; and Dreams of Being a Professional Drummer.
Show Notes Chapter Markers

Our next guest has a super power.  He can take 100 eleven-year-old kids who have never played music, give them instruments, and transform them from squawking, off key, off rhythm noise makers into award winning orchestras. 

Gary Fagan is a legend in my life.  He was my band teacher at J.T. Henley Middle School in Crozet, Virginia.  He taught me how to read and play music, and started me on my musical journey.  And over his 32 years at Henley, he passed on his love of music to thousands, if not tens of thousands, of students. 

But Gary is a drummer at heart, and his first dreams were of playing drums professionally.  He grew up watching his dad play in jazz bands, and eventually played drums in his dad’s band.  He’s also a vocalist and a composer, and in his spare time he has composed and published over a hundred pieces of music for orchestra. 

We’ll talk about his idols, from Count Basie to Buddy Rich, and he’ll give us a master class on rhythms and musical concepts, from dissecting paradiddles to explaining what playing in “concert F” means.

So how did he do it?  How did he make band the coolest class in middle school?  Let’s find out. Without further ado, it is my honor to introduce Gary Fagan.

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GARY FAGAN
- Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/gary.fagan.54

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Theme and Introduction
Welcome Gary Fagan! / Childhood / Learning Drums
Music Master Class
College / Becoming a Band Director
Gary's Teaching Strategy
Band Class Cult Following
Marching Band
Jazz Band
Composing Music
Defining Story / Influences
Thank You / Closing Theme