Melvin8

This is such a refreshing answer! Thank you.

I've attended a few different Methodist churches. One was pretty liberal, and while they did not refer to gay marriage or homosexuality, my gay friends felt comfortable attending. Then, I tried attending church in a more rural, conservative town. I stopped going after sitting through a Sunday school lecture (I was in high school) about how watching the show Will and Grace was a sin because it was promoting homosexuality. The pastor not only stated that gay people go to hell, but implied that we would too if we kept watching the show. I was in shock.

I'm glad to hear reasonable answers from you, answers that are more in line with my positive memories of Methodist churches.

Do you know any personal anecdotes? Have you had any friends from your school who have already gone on to a university?

My brother was a music prodigy when he was a child. Perfect pitch, perfect scores on competitions, placed first in the state every year, etc. I still have people come to me, angry, because he quit playing music entirely and went to medical school. People he knew through music, teachers who worked with him, etc. You are much more reasonable than the people I've encountered.

Arts are important for a well-rounded person.

Thank you for this. I've had many arguments with people who didn't think the arts were necessary, that they could replace them with science and math. They thought it would create a more ideal student.

Thank you so much for doing this AMA! And for teaching music in general. I apologize ahead of time for having so many questions. :)

It is really interesting to me that you have taught band, choir, and general music. I assumed that whichever group you studied in college would automatically be where you would get a job. When I was an English undergrad I took several voice classes and a wind methods course, on top of hours and hours of symphony, chamber, violin lessons, orchestral repertoire, etc. If the world was perfect, I would want to teach band, chorus, and orchestra (though preferably not simultaneously.)

• How feasible is this goal? That is, teaching all three at some point in my life.
• Would I have to pursue music education degrees in both instrumental and general?
  
• Is a music education degree necessary if you have several years of professional experience in performance? Can you still get hired?
• Did you feel prepared to teach choir, even with your background in trumpet?
  
• How necessary is a Master's degree for teaching music?
• Did you ever consider teaching at the college level? If so, what dissuaded you from it?
  

Sorry for the deluge of questions. If they're too much, it's okay. If you get too busy answering questions here, and want me to wait until a later date, just tell me. Maybe I could PM you sometime?