jerryhenry.biz

Good luck in the New Year

jerryhenry — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 02:35:29 +0000

The past year has seen a lot of changes for me. Resigning from your job is difficult at any time, especially when things are going well. Doing it when the economy is on the ropes and without having a clear picture of what comes next is even more of a challenge. So far the change has been a good thing. It has allowed me to do things I would not have been able to do otherwise, and it has allowed me to grow. Writing a book on teaching orchestra proved to be a challenge, but it was invigorating. It would have been impossible to create a performance series with a serious string quartet while doing my previous job. While it has been a lot of work it has been a lot of fun, and it has achieved its main goal of getting our quartet together to work on new and challenging music. Playing something worthwhile for the first time is exciting and fulfilling. Being elected as the ISTA president has been interesting, and I am looking forward to helping the organization become more functional. Trying to become an educational consultant is going slowly, but that is to be expected. I have had the opportunity to present at several events and I am hoping to create opportunities for the coming year. Taking a position with Griggs music is allowing me to expand into a new area where I can use some of the expertise I have gained over twenty-five years in the classroom. Trying to take the string shoppe at Griggs to a new level should prove to be quite a challenge, but it is one that is intriguing. It also allows me time to pursue my interests in consulting.

I look forward to serving a number of different constituencies in the coming year. I hope you are one of them. Get in touch. I wish each and every one of you an extremely gratifying new year.

Jerry

New position at Griggs

jerryhenry — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 11:57:06 +0000

We are working on my office space at Griggs. I now have a desk. I am learning about the inventory we have on hand and am in discussions with the store on our vision for the future. We are looking towards the end of January as our grand opening and announcement of my hiring and the new name of our department, “Brady Street Violins”. I will be visiting all the string teachers in Eastern Iowa in the near future to get ideas on how we can help you and make your lives easier. Come and visit our shop any time. My hours are Tuesday and Thursday 3:00-6:00 and Saturdays 10:00-1:00. I am also available by appointment.

String Expert at Griggs

jerryhenry — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 02:43:02 +0000

I had a very busy weekend just before Thanksgiving. I presented at the State School Board meeting in Des Moines on the 20th. I accepted a new position as the String Resource Expert with Griggs music that evening and worked in the booth on Friday and Saturday at the Iowa Music Education Association conference held in Ames. I made two presentations on Saturday the 21st at the IMEA conference and then took off for ten days with my wife for a vacation. All three of the presentations can be found on my website under the IMEA presentations button. If you would like any more information on any of them post here, or contact me through my e-mail. I have returned from a great vacation and am now actively seeking consulting work within the string education field. If you have needs in this area get in touch at any time for information either by posting to this blog, or by e-mailing me at jhenry@jerryhenry.biz .

School Board Presentation

jerryhenry — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 19:35:19 +0000

Thank you for the opportunity to address you about the continuing importance of arts education in our schools. If you have any comments about the presentation I will be happy to address them. Please spend time on my website to see if I can be of service to your school system and its string or music programs.