New band director to join the ranks at CHS

New Marching Orioles director Joe Schreimann was in town last week to visit with students.
(Lisa Handke)

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His name is Joe Schreimann, and he was in town last week for his third visit to get to know the school and prepare for next year.

Schreimann is still a student at the University of Missouri in Columbia; he will graduate in a few weeks. He has been student-teaching this semester at Park Hill High School in Kansas City.

Concordia High School Principal Troy Marnholtz said Schreimann was hired about a month ago. Michelle Ratley, band instructor for the past three years, is leaving the school district to do long-term mission work in the Baja California Sur region of Mexico.

Marnholtz said Schreimann stood out as the best candidate out of about 30 applicants for the position because of his extensive band experience and music credentials.

"We are excited to have him, and we feel he will continue the tradition of our successful band," Marnholtz said.

Schreimann is from Greenwood, and is a 2005 graduate of Lee's Summit High School. He is about to graduate from the University of Missouri, with honors.

For the past two years, Schreimann has led the Marching Mizzou university band as one of its three drum majors. His experience leading the band was what stood out to the hiring board at CHS.

"His involvement in a large band and traveling with the band made him a strong candidate in our eyes," Marnholtz said.

Current band director Ratley agrees. "I think we have found a good fit with Mr. Schreimann. He is enthusiastic and upbeat, and I think the students and the community will respond positively to him."

Schreimann has been involved in band since he was in the fifth grade. He learned to play the tuba in the seventh grade, and played that instrument through his high school and college years. As a music education major, he became certified to teach every instrument after passing "play tests" for each one.

In his high school years, Schreimann made the all-district band all four years, and the all-state band two years. He consistently earned superior ranks at state music competitions in high school.

At MU, Schreimann was a member of the Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia national music fraternity, which is a very important part of his life, he said. He is also state president of The National Association for Music Education. That means he was selected by the state to represent Missouri at the National Collegiate Music Educators Conference in Milwaukee in 2008.

Schreimann has also competed and placed in the Missouri Music Teachers Association's Solo Brass Competition three years in a row. He received an honorable mention in 2006, was named runner-up in 2007 and won the event in 2008. He was also chosen to be a part of the International Tuba Euphonium Association's Collegiate All-Star Ensemble and attended the organization's conference in Cincinnati in 2008. Schreimann said being recognized as part of the ensemble was a major honor for him.

It is also an honor to be chosen to take over as band director here in Concordia, Schreimann said.

"I'm very excited to be here," he said. "I know there is a proud music tradition here." Teaching somewhere that still respectfully upholds the tradition of the marching band has been important to him since he began working toward his music education degree.

Ratley shared some parting comments about leaving the band. "I have had a terrific time here. I have found the students I work with to be talented, committed and hard-working. They have been a blast to teach.

"I know the program I am leaving is healthy and strong," she continued, "The numbers are up and so is the enthusiasm. I wish the Marching Orioles the very best for the future."

On his three visits to Concordia so far, Schreimann has met the high school staff and been introduced to the students. He has also "taken inventory," he said.

Schreimann has checked out the band room and equipment and thought about what he will need for next year. He's even selected music for the Marching Orioles to play next year.

"I'm a planner," he said. "Everything should be taken care of early so we can be our best. I don't want to worry about administrative stuff getting in the way when we could be doing other things."

Schreimann plans to continue the band's traditional trip to Disneyworld in Orlando, Fla., every three years, so he has even been thinking of fundraising ideas to pay for the next trip, which is still years in the future.

"Things [the band] has been doing in the past have been successful," Schreimann said. "They use the traditional high-knee marching style, which we'll keep."

The only thing Schreimann noted as a "pressing need" for next year is new uniforms. The current ones are many years old, and beyond repair.

"I want to focus on getting new ones," Schreimann said. "I think the kids would like new uniforms. It would show we are proud of the program. I can see the kids are already proud of the program, but new uniforms would show our pride."

Schreimann hopes to be able to repair or replace some of the school's instruments, too. "The better shape the instruments are in, the better we are going to sound," he commented.

First, he will wrap up his student teaching and graduate from MU. A plaque with Schreimann's name engraved on it will be hung in the university Fine Arts building to honor the tuba player for his outstanding work in the music education department.

Schreimann will be at the school fairly often starting in mid-June, he said. He will use the summer to clean out the band room, organize things to his liking and "get ready to direct." He is eager to start.

"We have good kids here, good musicians," he said. "I hope to build on that."

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