Long Island Music and Entertainment Hall of Fame

I am absolutely honored to be the recipient of this year's Long Island Music & Entertainment Hall of Fame's Educator of Note. To be included on the list of past honorees, many of whom I have worked with collaboratively in a variety of music education organizations, committees, conferences and initiatives, is both gratifying and humbling. I have been very blessed to teach music since 1998. I was asked by Mr. Graf to provide a statement reflecting on my career in music education. For the past several weeks, whenever I had some time (which all music teachers know, time is a very limited commodity, especially during concert season), I would sit at my computer and start to type out some thoughts, only to delete them and start over again. It’s not easy or comfortable for me to write about myself. While I would like to share my successes, I have a deep level of humility which makes it challenging for me. Then last night, as I was at my desk working in my classroom on yet another Friday night, I had a surprise visitor. There was a knock at my classroom door, and it was a former student of mine who happened to be in the building visiting her younger sister who was at my school for an athletic practice. This student was a young lady, Julia Brandow, who was accompanied by her boyfriend. Julia now lives in upstate New York and happened to be in town visiting her family. Julia was one of the most talented and memorable students I have ever taught in my 27-year career. If there were a “Hall of Fame” for Mr. Knapp’s music students, Julia would surely be a first ballot Hall of Famer. We spent almost 2 hours catching up on life, reminiscing about her time as my student, even listening to tracks from one of the musicals she performed under my direction. What I found most amazing was her vivid recall about very specific songs, activities and experiences that happened in my classroom. She made it abundantly clear to me that I had left an indelible and positive impact on her life. After teaching thousands of students over several decades, I’m lucky that I have the opportunity to make an impact on the lives of so many people. Not a lot of people can say that in their profession. Sometimes, with the pressures of deadlines, performances, and the inherent responsibility that a large part of my work is intended for public consumption, I forget that perhaps the most important part of my job is the potential influence I have on a child’s life. Of all that I have achieved in my career, the impact I have made on the lives of thousands of students is probably what I am most proud of. Spending time with Julia and looking back on events from 15 years ago reminded me that I have accomplished a lot, and I should be very proud. Her surprise visit and our walk down memory lane was exactly what I needed to inspire me to write my statement, or better yet, my story. My journey in this beautiful world of music education has been filled with tremendous joy, lots of hard work and determination, and a good amount of luck. My path is a rather unconventional one, as the road I traveled to become the educator that I am was very different from most in my profession. Here’s my story.

When I was a young student in school, especially in Junior High School and High School, I wasn’t sure where my place on the social ladder was, or what crowd I fit in with. The one constant for me was always music. To this day, my best friends are still the people I met while participating in the school band. As a music educator, I strive to provide my students with joyful learning experiences, while also cultivating the importance and value of hard work and dedication. I absolutely love being an elementary music educator. In a field where the desire to “move up” to teach at the secondary level is common, I have always known where I belong. I am proud to teach at the elementary level. The foundation created at the elementary level is crucial to a program’s success. It is so rewarding for me to provide for many students their introduction to music learning and performance. In its simplest terms, I have two goals everyday with my students. 1. I want my elementary students to be excited when they arrive at my class/rehearsal, and I want them to be sad when it’s time to leave because they want more. 2. I want my students to feel the same way that my music teachers made me feel when I was an elementary music student, joyful.

Growing up as a student in William Floyd School District, I was very lucky to have some incredible music teachers who helped shape my love for music. My first ever music teacher was Michael Merolla, a brilliant musician and incredible teacher. I may not remember much about my day-to-day experiences in elementary school, but I have vivid and fond memories of my music classes with Mr. Merolla, going all the way back to 1st grade. Fast forwarding to High School, my school music journey came full circle when I had Mr. Merolla again by enrolling in his piano course. In High School, some of my best friends to this day played trumpet with me in Mr. Frank Turso’s band. High School wasn’t an easy time for me, as I often struggled to find my way. The one constant that provided me with a sense of belonging and a place where I felt valued was always in the music wing. I am thankful for the foundation that my public-school music experience provided for me.

I attended Suffolk Community College, initially thinking I was going to venture into broadcasting. I started taking a music class in my first semester at Suffolk Community College, a class in which I registered for completely by accident. I registered for “Music History 1,” a class that I thought would probably be about Elvis Presley and The Beatles. The teacher explained that this class was probably not what I was expecting and suggested that I switch from this class to “College Band,” which met at the same time. I ended up playing in the college band and continued playing each semester while I was figuring out my path. All the while, I met some great people whom I am still friends with to this day, and I began to immerse myself within the music department. After changing my major several times, once again, the one constant for me was music. I began to enroll in more music classes and my life took a dramatic and positive turn when I began studying with Professor Jesus Manuel Berard. He took me under his wing and was truly one of the most influential teachers in my life. If it were not for Professor Berard, I think my life would have gone in a very different direction. I would soon be accepted as a Music Education major at the Crane School of Music at SUNY Potsdam, where I would meet another very important and influential person in my journey.

While matriculating at the Crane School of Music at SUNY Potsdam, I had the great fortune of taking classes with Lawrence Tallman. Mr. Tallman is probably the reason why I fell in love with the idea of teaching classroom music at the elementary level. I was a trumpet major while at Crane, and back then, your future was basically predetermined….if you were a trumpet player, your destiny was likely to become a band director. However, the greatest memory I have from Mr. Tallman’s elementary music methods classes was how he made me feel like I was a kid again having fun in music class back in elementary school. It was my experience with Mr. Tallman that led me to explore the possibility of teaching elementary classroom music and chorus. When I submitted my application for a student teaching assignment, I requested a placement that was half for band and half for elementary classroom music/chorus. During this time as a trumpet player, this was considered an odd request. Back then, it was a foregone conclusion that a trumpet player (or any other brass, woodwind or percussion major) would have a full student teaching placement strictly for band. Despite the unusual nature of my request, my student teaching assignment to be placed half in a band setting and half in an elementary classroom music/choral was approved. This would have never happened if I didn’t have Mr. Tallman as my teacher and advocate. He was without question my greatest inspiration at Crane. I was assigned for student teaching in the Rocky Point School District where I had the great pleasure of learning under the watchful eyes and tutelage of Bruce Texeira for my band placement and Sara Ruggiero for my elementary classroom music and choral placement. During my time with Mrs. Ruggiero, I felt like I was exactly where I was meant to be, in the elementary music classroom. When my student teaching ended in May, Mrs. Ruggiero gave birth to her second child, and I started my first job as a public-school educator by serving as her leave replacement in the Joseph A. Edgar Intermediate School for the final month of the school year. The rest, as they say, is history.

I have been teaching Classroom Music and Chorus, grades 3 through 5, at the Joseph A. Edgar Intermediate School in the Rocky Point School District in 1998, where I am an elementary choral and classroom music specialist. I have also been the Rocky Point Elementary Music Department Chairperson since 2021. When I began, I immersed myself in a variety of professional development opportunities to better develop my skills as a teacher. As a trumpet major, I didn’t possess the conventional background or prerequisite skill set to be an effective elementary music specialist or choral director. But I took the initiative to discover that there were organizations that existed that would help me improve as an educator. I began attending workshops offered by the Long Island Chapter of the American Orff Schulwerk Association, I attended conferences sponsored by the New York State School Music Association and the American Choral Directors Association. This is where I truly began to hone my craft. In my early years, while I was young and green, I was given the greatest gift by one of the classroom teachers in my school, Mr. Sal Lentini. Mr. Lentini was the school’s Student Council Advisor, he was the one who really helped to put me on the map in the Rocky Point School District by asking me to have my choral groups perform at various functions and events, including our annual Salute to Veterans and annual Senior Citizen St. Patrick’s Day Breakfast. While he might not have truly understood the world of music education, he knew I was a hard worker and that this visibility would be beneficial for me.

During the 2002-2003 school year, that was the turning point for me. I had an incredibly talented group of 5th grade students, and it was the first year the 5th Grade Select Chorus was established in my school. Since that group was so strong, it was the first time that I attempted new opportunities and began to take some risks. For example, that was the first chorus group that I ever took to the New York State School Music Association (NYSSMA) Major Organization Festival, where they received a Gold Rating. I will forever be thankful and indebted to each of those students who were in my 5th Grade Chorus that year. They helped springboard me to heights I never thought were attainable. I don’t know how my career would have progressed if I didn’t have that group of students.

As my career began to mature, I developed a philosophy of fostering a tuneful, beatful, artful learning community based on the music education curriculum of Dr. John Feierabend. After studying Kodály with Dr. Feierabend at the Hartt School of Music in 2010, I knew my teaching would be transformed in ways I never thought possible. By 2010, I was already an established and well-respected educator, but the impact that Dr. Feierabend had on my life and my teaching was profound, exceptionally meaningful, and truly significant. From the moment I began to learn from John, I took my first steps into a larger world and my approach to teaching was changed for the better. The best way for me to describe the impact that John had on my teaching is to compare it to the movie, “The Wizard of Oz.” When I studied First Steps of Music and Conversational Solfege with John and then began implementing his resources with my students, my teaching advanced from when the “Wizard of Oz” was black and white to when it changed into color. Through Dr. Feierabend’s approach, I proudly and passionately teach children through research-based and developmentally appropriate pedagogies that use quality literature, while strategically infusing elements of the Orff-Schulwerk approach and Kodály concept into my music teaching. The results have been unparalleled and my lessons have been sequenced in such a way that success for my students is inherently achievable. I am honored to have completed my apprenticeship to become a Feierabend Association for Music Education (FAME) Endorsed Teacher Trainer for Conversational Solfege Levels 1 and 2 under Dr. Feierabend in 2014. I had an amazing experience and I have since spread his teachings and philosophy to future generations of music educators. I am eternally thankful for Dr. John Feierabend for his guidance and support.

In my school, I have three choral ensembles, a 3rd Grade Chorus, and 4th/5th Grade Chorus and a 5th Grade Select Chorus. I started the 5th Grade Select Chorus in 2002, and they have been involved and rooted in some of our school’s longest running traditions, including performing at the annual Salute to Veterans and annual Senior Citizen St. Patrick’s Day Breakfast. I have directed my 5th Grade Select Chorus annually at New York State School Music Association (NYSSMA) Major Organization Evaluation Festivals since 2003, where they have received consistent "Gold" and "Gold With Distinction" ratings. I also direct our school’s annual Winter Musical. I have had several students participate in various American Choral Directors Association’s Children's Honor Choirs and Organization of American Kodály Educators’ National Children’s Choirs in various cities including Chicago, IL, Washington D.C., Denver, CO, Philadelphia, PA, Providence, RI, Baltimore, MD, Buffalo, NY and Albany, NY. In my Elementary Music Department Chairperson position, I am very proud to have successfully instituted an Introduction to the Instrumental Program Instrument Petting Zoo. This event allows our students to receive hands-on experiences to help them select an instrument for band and orchestra. During my tenure as a chairperson, our district shifted to begin our instrumental program in grade 4 after many years of beginning in grade 5. During this time, our school district has also been the recipient of the NAMM Foundation Best Communities for Music Education. I have also rewritten the district’s elementary music curriculum to create a standards-based learning experience and provide a sequential and structured foundation for our youngest music learners.

Outside of the Rocky Point School District, I have maintained a very active schedule. I have directed the Metropolitan Youth Orchestra of New York’s Children’s Treble Choirs since 2007, where I have conducted at many historic music venues including Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center and Radio City Music Hall. I have also directed The Star-Spangled Banner several times with my MYO choirs at Citi Field prior to New York Mets baseball games and at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum prior to New York Islanders hockey games. I have conducted several commissioned pieces by renowned composers including Nick Page, Jim Papoulis and Melissa Keylock/Jill Friedersdorf and have held Master Classes with my students with guest conductors/composers including Francisco J. Núñez and Jim Papoulis. I have been an Adjunct Assistant Professor at Hofstra University where I taught “Conversational Solfege” and “First Steps in Music with Orff Schulwerk.” I am the former director of the Early Childhood Community Music Program at Stony Brook University, where I instructed children in Pre-K through 2nd grade from 2017-2022.

I have become a respected clinician, and have presented workshops at national conferences for the National Association for Music Education (NAfME), Feierabend Association for Music Education (FAME), American Choral Directors Association (ACDA), American Orff-Schulwerk Association (AOSA) and Organization of American Kodály Educators (OAKE). I have presented workshops at regional conferences for the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA) Eastern Division and Organization of American Kodály Educators (OAKE) Eastern Division Tune-Up. I have presented for state and local organizations including the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA) New York Chapter's Fall Conference, New York State School Music Association (NYSSMA) Summer and Winter Conferences, New Jersey School Music Association (NJMEA) Summer and Winter Conferences, Connecticut Music Educators Association (CMEA) In-Service Conference, American Orff-Schulwerk Association's Long Island Chapter (LIAOSA), Kodály Organization of New York (KONY), Balanced Mind Curriculum Conferences, Suffolk County Music Educators Association (SCMEA) Classroom Music workshops, Suffolk County Chapter of NYSCAME (New York State Council of Administrators of Music Education) Professional Development Music Education Symposium, Nassau and Suffolk County Chapters of NYSCAME (New York State Council of Administrators of Music Education) Professional Development Series and various public school districts on topics including children’s choirs, elementary classroom music and curriculum.

I have been the guest conductor for the Connecticut Music Educators Association's Elementary Honors Choir, the New Hampshire Music Educators Association Elementary Honors Choir, the Ohio Music Education Association Children's All-State Choir, the Pennsylvania Music Educators Association Elementary ChorusFest and was the guest conductor/clinician for the Kodály Organization of New York's "Voices United!" Festival in New York City. I have also been a guest choral conductor for Dutchess, Monroe, Nassau, Orange, Putnam, Rockland, Schoharie, Suffolk, Ulster, and Westchester County Music Educators’ Associations in New York. I have been a clinician for the NMEA and SCMEA PEAK (Parents Educators And Kids) Festival and have also been a guest conductor for the SCMEA Eugene Reichenthal Day of Recorder.

I have been very active in a variety of leadership positions for multiple music education organizations throughout my career. I am a Past-President of SCMEA (Suffolk County Music Educators’ Association). I served on the NYSSMA (New York State School Music Association) Curriculum Committee from 2012-2022. I also served on the NYSSMA Manual Selection Committee for Treble Chorus, Levels 1-3, from 2015-2022. I was the Administrative Program Coordinator for the Orff-Schulwerk Summer Studies Program at Hofstra University from 2005-2019 and served two terms as the Membership Chairperson for LIAOSA (Long Island Chapter of the American Orff-Schulwerk Association). I am a Lifetime Member of OAKE (Organization of American Kodály Educators) and served on the OAKE National Conference Choir Committee from 2019-2021. I am also a Lifetime Member of ACDA (American Choral Directors Association) and have served three terms as chairperson for the ACDA Eastern Division Elementary Honor Choir, two terms as NY-ACDA Repertoire and Standards Chairperson for Children's Choirs, and two terms as Long Island Regional Representative for the New York Chapter. I am a founding member of FAME (Feierabend Association for Music Education) where I am a Lifetime Member and have served on their Board of Directors as President-Elect and Member at Large.

I am the co-author of the book, “First Steps in Music with Orff Schulwerk: Sing, Say, Dance, Play" and a contributing author for the book "Feierabend Fundamentals." I am currently working on my third book project with GIA Publications, “Conversational Solfege with Orff Schulwerk,” due out at some point in 2025. I was a member of the General Music Writing Team for the Curriculum Project of the National Association for Music Education (NAfME) and the Library of Congress of the United States (LOC), "Teaching with Primary Sources," published 2016-2017.

It is an honor to be receiving the Long Island Music & Entertainment Hall of Fame's Educator of Note. When I look at the list of past recipients, I am both humbled and honored to be in such great company. I attended the ceremony when John McNeur was a recipient. Mr. McNeur hired me to conduct for MYO in 2007. I will always be thankful that he took a chance on me, as I would have never had the opportunities that have come my way if not for my work with Mr. McNeur and MYO. I have worked with Dr. David Fryling in several capacities with the American Choral Directors Association, I have the pleasure of teaching alongside his amazingly talented wife Doreen in MYO, and I had the incredibly joyful opportunity to teach both of his children in various MYO choirs. I worked very closely with Marc Greene as we were both members of the NYSSMA Curriculum Committee together for nearly a decade. To join this notable list of dedicated educators is truly a dream come true for me. Long Island Music & Entertainment Hall of Fame, thank you for acknowledging me.

When I look back at my career, I am very proud of the work I have accomplished. My success is the result of a lot of hard work and some good luck. I had so many wonderful people who helped guide me. Most importantly, I had the good fortune of teaching many incredible children. I have always said that I have the luckiest job in the world. I get to wake up every Monday morning and make music with kids. How many people get to say they look forward to waking up on a Monday morning to go to work? I’m very proud that I carved out a successful career in a rather unconventional and unique way. I suppose I have proven that it’s OK to be different. It’s a testament to the phrase, “If you put your mind to it, you can accomplish anything.” Of all that I have achieved, more important than any accolades I could receive, books I could publish, guest conducting opportunities I could earn, invitations to present at professional development conferences, or performances I direct….my greatest accomplishment and what I’m most proud of is that students like Julia Brandow still come to visit me decades later to tell me that I was their favorite teacher and to thank me for the positive impact I had on their life. What could be better than that?