Goddard USD 265 Instrumental Music Directors:

 

Mrs. Marla Weber (Director of Instrumental Music - GHS) is in her seventeenth year at Goddard High School and her twenty-seventh year of teaching instrumental music. She directs the high school Jazz, Symphonic Wind Ensemble, Concert, Pep and the Lion Pride Marching Band. Under her direction, Goddard bands have received numerous state and national honors in the areas of concert, jazz and marching. She was instrumental in starting the High School Orchestra of which she is the director. She also teaches Music Theory at the Goddard High School and Eisenhower Middle School Strings. Under her direction, the Goddard Instrumental Music program has swelled to more than 900 students in grades 5-12. Ms. Weber is a graduate of Wichita State University where she participated in Wind Ensemble, Marching Band, Jazz Arts and the Faculty Sax Quartet. She began her music education career in the Wichita Public Schools, she is the former Director of Instrumental Music at Wichita North High School where she directed the bands, orchestra, and taught theory classes. She has been an instructor, clinician and adjudicator through out the Midwest and is a member of DCI Judges Guild. Other professional memberships include the International Association of Jazz Educators, Kansas Bandmasters Association, Kansas Music Educators Association, Women Band Directors National Association, Phi Beta Mu, and MENC. You can email her by clicking here.
Mr. Philip Edelman (Director of Instrumental Music - Robert Goddard Middle School) is originally from the great state of New York, and earned his undergraduate degree in music education from the University Of New Hampshire. After his undergraduate studies, Mr. Edelman was transplanted to the Mid-West where he completed his Master's degree in Music as a graduate assistant at Kansas State University. As a graduate assistant, Mr. Edelman taught undergraduate courses in conducting, and was a guest lecturer in American Music and Brass Pedagogy. In addition to his teaching responsibilities, Mr. Edelman's activities include being a presenter at the Kansas State University Music Education Symposium, and presenting a clinic with his band and Dr. Frederick Burrack of Kansas State University at the 2007 Kansas Music Educator's Association In-Service Workshop. Mr. Edelman was most recently published in volume seven of the music education series Teaching Music Through Performance in Band, available through GIA Publications. This is Mr. Edelman's fourth year as part of the Goddard School district. He is a member of MENC, CBDNA, and the Kansas Bandmasters' Association. Mr. Edelman was honored in 2008 by being presented with the Kansas Horizon Award by the State of Kansas Department of Education in recognition of outstanding teaching. You can email him by clicking here.
Mr. Brett Morrison (Director of Instrumental Music - EMS) earned his Bachelor?s in Music from Wichita State University where he studied with Robert Grimm, John Hagstrom, and Tim McCool. After finishing his undergraduate work, he moved to Colorado to begin preparation for graduate school at the University of Northern Colorado. At the University of Northern Colorado Mr. Morrison studied trumpet with Mr. Bill Pfund, participated in UNC?s nationally recognized jazz program, earned his Master?s of Music and completed his teacher licensure program. After student teaching, Mr. Morrison became the Director of Bands for the Atoka Public School District in Atoka, Oklahoma; a position which he held for four years. Mr. Morrison is a member of MENC and has been a member of the International Trumpet Guild. You can email him by clicking here.
Ms. Sarah Ashcraft (Band Director, Challenger/Discovery) , a native of Kansas, graduated from Wichita State University with a bachelor?s degree in music education. She attended Bowling Green State University in Ohio where she held a graduate teaching assistantship position in music education while earning a comprehensive masters degree in the same area. Sarah currently teaches elementary and high school band and middle school strings in Goddard, Kansas, after teaching elementary band and general music in Scottsdale, Arizona for two years. You can email her by clicking here.
Ms. Melanie Caster (Band Director, Challenger/Discovery)  is originally from Wichita, KS. She attended the Goddard Public Schools and graduated from Goddard High School in 2004. In December 2008, she received her B.M.E from Kansas State University in Manhattan, KS. At Kansas State, Melanie was an active member of the Kansas State University Marching Band, Symphony Band and the Concert Jazz Ensemble. Melanie was a member of College Music Educators National Conference and a current member of the Kansas Music Educators Association. You can email her by clicking here.
Ms. Pam Lawson (Orchestra Director, Challenger/Discovery) is a native of Wichita, Kansas and began playing the violin in the Wichita Public School System. She earned her Bachelors degree in Music Education from Friends University and a Masters of Arts in Education (Curriculum and Instruction) from the University of Phoenix. She is also a Nationally Board Certified. As an undergraduate, she studied violin with James Caesar, Nancy Lutrell, Jacquelyn Dillon, and Andrej Grabiec. In 2005, Ms. Lawson has been awarded the Wal-Mart Teacher of the Year. She is in demand as an adjudicator and clinician. Her performing experiences include the Hutchinson Symphony Orchestra, Associate Concertmistress for the Fayetteville Symphony and free lancing with the Wilson, Florence, and Wilmington Symphony Orchestras. Ms. Lawson has served as Principal 2nd Violin for the Long Bay Symphony Orchestra in Myrtle Beach, SC and coached the string sections for the Long Bay Symphony Youth Orchestra. She has also worked with the Gifted and Talented Program for Georgetown County Schools, teaching stringed instruments to under-privileged children. She is a member of MENC. You can email her by clicking here.