Jim Childers directed bands in Illinois public schools for over 33 years. Childers spent the majority of his career at Marion Junior High School, where he directed all band activities for Grades 6 through 8. Now in retirement, he is the musical director for the Southern Illinois Symphonic Winds, an invitational community band, and the Jazz Alliance, an exemplary regional big band. In the fall of 2024, he will be working for John A. Logan College as an adjunct professor. In addition to teaching, Mr. Childers has compiled and authored two books, Listening Excerpts to Develop Band Musicianship for concert band directors and Listening Excerpts to Develop Jazz Musicianship for jazz educators, both published by GIA Publications.

Mr. Childers has accumulated several honors over the years. On ten occasions he received a Citation of Excellence award from the National Band Association. He has guest-conducted at several honor band festivals in central and southern Illinois, including the Illinois Summer Youth Music festival at the University of Illinois. In addition to performing with several concert and jazz ensembles in southern Illinois, Mr. Childers enjoys presenting at conferences and festivals. Mr. Childers has been invited twice to present at the Midwest Clinic, as well as several state and district conferences.

The bands under Mr. Childers’s direction have collected several honors. The Symphonic Band at Marion Junior High School performed at the Illinois Music Educators Conference two times. He took bands from two separate districts to the “Super State” festival at the University of Illinois, including the Symphonic Band from Marion, which performed nine times. His top band at Marion won the “State of Illinois Junior High Concert Band Competition” three times. In 2008 Mr. Childers took the Marion Junior High Symphonic Band to perform at Symphony Hall in Chicago at the “Heritage Festival of Gold.” On eleven separate outings, his junior high students outscored all other bands, including high school ensembles, to win the top band trophy at festivals in the Midwest. The Marion band program also commissioned works by David Gillingham, Michael Sweeney, Benjamin Taylor, Garrett Schmidt, Todd Stalter, Jan Van der Roost, and Robert Sheldon.

Workshops

Battling Bland: Strategies and Resources for Drawing Expression from Your Students - Music Education

Grow Your Jazz Students with Structured Listening - Music Education

Every director of a jazz ensemble has probably said numerous times, “My students need to listen more.” This session demonstrates different ways directors can get quality listening examples in front of their students and how various teaching concepts can be addressed. Attendees might be veteran instructors or novice directors with little jazz experience. However, all will appreciate receiving information about making listening efficient and impactful for their students.