Beloved Kirkwood Band Director To Retire

credit: Flickr

After nearly 20 years as the director of bands for the Kirkwood School District in St.

Louis, Rebecca Friesen is poised to retire.

"Music education is not just learning how to play an instrument," she tells the St.

Louis Post-Dispatch.

"The skills learned through collaborating with each other, being part of something bigger than yourself, understanding that it makes a big difference when you're not therethat makes a huge impression on their growth and maturity."

Friesen began her career in the Washington School District before joining the Fort Zumwalt School District, where she worked as an adjunct faculty member before being hired as North Kirkwood Middle School's head band director in 2005, per the Post-Dispatch.

She took over as the district's director of bands in 2018.

In between performances, she teaches the beginning clarinet classher specialtyand instructs middle and high school band students.

She also teaches special groups like the Woodwind Chamber Ensemble, and accompanies students on school trips.

"Music education is not just learning how to play an instrument," she says.

"The skills learned through collaborating with each other, being part of something bigger than yourself, understanding that it makes a big difference when you're not therethat makes a huge impression on their growth and

Read the Entire Article

How's Your Community Doing?
Check Out it's
Community Vital Signs

Delta Dental of Arkansas Foundation Revises Major Grant Program

"As a result, more Arkansans will be able to have healthy smiles." Those are the words of Sharon Lanier, executive director of the Delta Dental of Arkansas Foundation, which is changing the way...more

Amy Ramirez New Executive Director at Healthcare Foundation Northern Sonoma County

"The work it's doing mirrors the best work being done in more metropolitan areas because it is so focused on racism, discrimination, and equity within systems of care." That's how Amy Ramirez...more

Jacksonville-Based Vystar Foundation Awards Funds for Veterans Needs

The VyStar Foundation has awarded $200,000 in grants to 12 Florida and Georgia nonprofits that help military and veterans, the Florida Times-Union reports. The nonprofits were selected "for their...more

Funding for New, Existing Community Facilities in Guysborough County

There's a new fitness center in the works in Guysborough County, Nova Scotia, and it's going to be a lot bigger than the old one. The provincial government announced Tuesday that it's giving...more

Building Resilience for Our Planet and Beyond

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's Gillings School of Global Public Health has been named one of the top 50 public universities in the US by US News & World Report. The list, which...more

Incubating Innovative Ideas And Solutions To Tackle Challenges Posed By Climate-Induced ...

Pakistan's Gilgit-Baltistan region is home to more than 13,032 glaciers spanning the Karakoram, the Hindu Kush, and the Himalayan mountain ranges, making its northern region the largest reservoir of...more

Blink and Clean Miami Beach Team Up for Earth Day Environment Cleanup

If you're an electric-vehicle driver who can't find a charging station in your area, Blink Charging may have just the thing for you. The company has installed more than 30,000 charging stations...more

Fast Track: Santa Barbara County Has Two Years to Spend a $7.9 Million State Grant to ...

In California's Santa Barbara County, more than 1,000 residents experienced homelessness for the first time in 2024, the Los Angeles Times reports. Kimberlee Albers, the county's Homeless...more

Watkinsville to Receive Grant for Simonton Bridge Sidewalk

A broken sewer main in Watkinsville, Ga., dumped more than 20,000 gallons of raw sewage into a creek last week, the Times-Union reports. According to the Oconee County Water Resources Department,...more

Lakewood Division of Aging Touts Timing of New State Grant as Daily Walk-Ins Increase

If you're in your 60s or older in Lakewood, Ohio, you're in good company. The city's Division of Aging last year delivered 18,244 home meals and served 12,893 meals, reports...more