Music faculty using performance experiences to enhance teaching

In the span of a weekend in June, Northwest Missouri State University Professor of Music Dr. William Richardson played in the Glenn Miller Birthplace Society Big Band and directed the Northwest Jazz Ensemble at the annual Glen Miller Festival in Clarinda, Iowa, and then played with the Phil Collins Experience at Old Shawnee Days in Shawnee, Kansas.

Richardson’s performance activity is just one example of Northwest music faculty who continue to practice their craft and bring those experiences into their classrooms.

“As teachers who are active performing musicians, we can tie in situations directly to our own personal experiences,” Richardson said. “Musical elements — playing in tune with a good sound, balance, blend, appropriate technique and musicianship, combined with job-skills,­­­ showing up prepared and on-time, treating colleagues with respect — lend renewed focus for our student ensemble and private lesson work.”

Northwest music faculty Dr. Joseph Tomasso, Dr. William Sutton and Dr. Paul Hindemith also regularly take on music endeavors beyond the University campus that help shape their teaching methods.

Dr. Joseph Tomasso, an assistant professor of music at Northwest, is a woodwind performer. (Photo by Todd Weddle/Northwest Missouri State University)

Tomasso has taught at Northwest since 2017 and regularly plays oboe with the symphonies in Topeka, Kansas; Omaha, Nebraska; and in Springfield and St. Joseph in Missouri. He recently started playing with the Wichita Grand Opera.

He thinks performing with ensembles better equips him to teach his applied music courses for woodwind instruments. He believes his involvement in groups outside of Northwest and the busy schedule that goes with it helps him better understand his students.

Until Tomasso started his teaching career at the University of Illinois-Urbana Champaign in 2006, he wanted to make his living playing music and thought he would never teach. Needing to earn some money, however, he decided to offer private lessons to a student and changed his mindset.

“I realized I’m creating an environment where someone is falling in love with music and it made me feel like my life had a purpose,” Tomasso said. “I could make sure that other people who either were having a hard time or just wanted to really connect with other people had a way to do that.”

Dr. William Sutton instructs low brass at Northwest and conducts the Symphonic Band. (Photo by Chloe Timmons/Northwest Missouri State University)

Sutton joined the Northwest faculty in 2022 and teaches low brass and music theory. He has played with the Kansas City Symphony, St. Joseph Symphony, Topeka Symphony and the Orchestra of Northern New York, to name a few. A standout experience for him was a performance with the Classical Music Institute in San Antonio, Texas, in front of an audience of 15,000 people.

Performing with other ensembles presents unique challenges, helps him feel engaged with other musicians and gives him a sense of accomplishment. It also sets an example for what students can do in the music field, and it keeps him fresh and energized about what he is doing in the classroom. He hopes his students gain an appreciation for practice, having a schedule, being on time and having positive interactions in a professional setting.

“One of the things that got us to where we are is our love for not only talking about and helping others work on musicality and musicianship but also our own,” Sutton said. “I think our own love for creating and being a part of musical experiences is also present. So getting to keep playing and making music is a nice opportunity.”

Dr. Paul Hindemith, an assistant professor of music at Northwest, is pictured with Dr. Rachel Day as they performed in the University's annual Yuletide Feaste in 2023. (Photo by Chandu Ravi Krishna/Northwest Missouri State University)

Hindemith, who joined the Northwest faculty in 2022, has three degrees in vocal performance with an opera emphasis and has been singing professionally for more than 20 years.

His most recent performances have been with an opera at the University of South Dakota, The Opus 76 Quartet in Kansas City, and at the Robidoux Resident Theater in St. Joseph. He also served as musical director for a production of “The Spongebob Musical” in St. Joseph.

“I’m pretty much equal parts teacher and performer because I’ve tried having the performing career and I missed the teaching,” Hindemith said. “I was a high school teacher right out of college, and I really missed the performing. So, for who I am, I have to do both.”

Richardson has been a part of the Northwest faculty since 1999. His love of music originates from his upbringing in school music programs in Lee’s Summit, Missouri. A big factor that led him to teaching is that both of Richardson’s parents, who also were teachers, encouraged him to get an education degree.

He understands performing with other ensembles informs his teaching – and his teaching can inform his performance. In addition to playing with the St. Joseph Symphony, St. Joseph Big Band and a St. Joseph Symphony brass quintet, his performance with the Phil Collins Experience is especially unique.

Dr. William Richardson performs regularly on trumpet with The Phil Collins Experience. (Photo by Jerry Watson)

The Phil Collins Experience stages a production with 13 performers and musicians. Richardson performed 15 times with the group in 2023 and that number is increasing this year with a three-day residency in Tampa, Florida, and a four-day residency in Nevada. Since joining the Phil Collins Experience in 2019, Richardson also has traveled with the production on an East Coast tour.

“One of the things that we’ve learned with all these ensembles, even before I came here with just ensemble experiences, if somebody brings good energy to what they’re doing, they add value to the group,” Richardson said.