Eric Songer (Chaska Middle School West) is one of the state's most prominent band directors!  He joins us to talk about his passion for teaching popular music through a variety of (for lack of a better term) "modern band" emphasis in his teaching. His school features a variety of bands including rock, hip hop, country and bluegrass, and much more. He teaches lessons in DJ technique, songwriting, music history, theory, and more.  Of course, he also directs concert bands and jazz bands, too.  According to Songer, this is the future of music education and his vision is being embraced by more and more teachers and schools in our state and around the country.  ALSO: Our "What's On Your Stand?" session features the music of band composer Chandler Wilson.  PLUG: We got a preview of the new Beyond ArtLess podcast with Chris Gleason, Peter Haberman, and Phil Ostrander, and we recommend it! LOOKING AHEAD: We have great episodes coming soon! We will be doing at least two episodes at/about the MMEA Midwinter Convention and also have an upcoming episode about the challenges of teaching in small, rural schools.   Thanks for being a supporter!