Author
Brandt Schneider, a native of Newtown, CT, received a BA from Oberlin College in 1991, a MPA from Syracuse University in 1994, and a Sixth Year degree in Educational Leadership from Southern Connecticut State University in 2008. While at Oberlin he studied jazz composition with Wendell Logan, Donald Byrd, and JJ Johnson and was a four year member of the Oberlin Jazz Ensemble. He has taught as a music director in Los Angeles, Louisiana, Newtown, and Derby. He has been selected as the 1993 Jackson High School Teacher of the Year, 1998 Wal-Mart teacher of the year, a recipient of the 2002 New Haven Symphony Excellence in Music Teaching Award, and received a 1993 commendation from the State of Louisiana legislature for outstanding teaching. In 2001 he was designated a Palm Education Pioneer. While an assistant at Newtown High School the marching band performed in both the Rose Bowl and Citrus Bowl Parades. He has presented workshops and served as chairman of various Connecticut Music Educators (CMEA) Festivals and Ensembles. Mr. Schneider is a member of Teach for America’s Class of 1991.
After joining the Derby staff in 1996 the performance music program grew from zero to fifteen large ensembles. There are currently 250 students enrolled in performance classes in the Derby schools. In the past few years students have performed with Jung-Ho Pak, Tom Duffy, Ted Rosenthal, Phil Bowler, Awadagin Pratt, Earl MacDonald, Dan Goble, the Yale Concert Band, and the UConn Jazz Ensemble. Students attended the 2001 and 2004 IAJE Festival in New York City. In 2002 both the DHS Jazz Ensemble and Small Ensemble program were selected to perform at the CMEA Conference. In 2005 Mr. Schneider presented a workshop on Handheld Computers in Jazz Education at the IAJE conference in Long Beach, CA.
As a track coach Mr. Schneider has led several teams to league and state titles in Louisiana and Connecticut. Mr. Schneider currently teaches Web Design at Seymour High School.
