The Habits Series

Scott Rush is the team lead for the Habits series by GIA Publications and is the former Director of Bands at Wando High School in Mount Pleasant, SC. He is a graduate of the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston, Massachusetts and the University of South Carolina. He currently serves as co-conductor of the Charleston Wind Symphony, a semi-professional ensemble in Charleston, South Carolina.

Jeff Scott is the Director of Bands at Cario Middle School in Mount Pleasant, SC, where he has held that position since 2001. He is a graduate of the University of Kentucky and received a Master of Instrumental Music in Conducting at Southern Oregon University. He was awarded National Board Certification in 2005 and 2015. In 2020, he was named Phi Beta Mu “South Carolina Bandmaster of the Year”.

Dr. Christopher Selby is the author of Habits of a Successful Orchestra Director, Music Theory for the Successful String Musician, and co-author of the Habits of a Successful String Musician series , a collection of string method books for middle- and upper-level orchestras, published by GIA. He is an active clinician and has presented sessions at two Midwest Clinics, the 2016 NAfME National Conference, five American String Teacher Association (ASTA) National Conferences, and numerous state conferences across America.

Margaret Selby is the orchestra director and 2020 Teacher of the Year at Laing Middle School in Charleston County (SC) where her program grew from 42 to 215 students in five years. She earned her Bachelor’s degree in Music Education and her Master’s degree in Music Performance from the University of South Carolina. Mrs. Selby’s orchestras have participated in SCMEA Concert Performance Assessment and other festivals in the southeast, earning superior ratings.

Eric Wilkinson is the director of the Wando High School Choir program in Charleston, South Carolina. Wilkinson’s choirs have consistently earned superior ratings at state and national choral festivals and have performed in Carnegie Hall, St. Peter’s Basilica and the Washington National Cathedral. His pursuit of excellence in teaching and conducting has taken him to London, Vienna, Varna, New York City, and Medomak, Maine. Wilkinson has served on the SCMEA All-State committee for ten years and chaired the audition process for four years. Wilkinson’s choirs have been invited to perform for SCMEA and ACDA conventions.

Kevin Boyle is in his sixteenth year of teaching instrumental music and his first year as the Associate Director of Bands at Tapp Middle School in Powder Springs, GA. He is also the Percussion Director for McEachern High School. Prior to arriving at Tapp, he taught middle school band and percussion in both Georgia and South Carolina. Mr. Boyle’s ensembles have received consistent Superior ratings at Large Group Performance Evaluation.

Marguerite Wilder is widely recognized as a conductor and clinician, having conducted honor bands throughout the United States, Canada, England, Italy, Turkey, and Australia. Serving as a resource person for in-service sessions, she works with both local and regional school systems and universities. Her clinics on motivational techniques for beginning band are often featured at state and national conventions, including the Midwest Band and Orchestra Conference.

Dr. Mary Land is Associate Professor of Music and Director of Instrumental Music Education at Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo, Michigan. She conducts the University Concert Band and teaches courses in instrumental music education. Prior to this position, she was Director of Bands and Instrumental Music Education at Young Harris College in Young Harris, Georgia. Before moving to higher education, Dr. Land was a public-school band director in Georgia for over twenty-five years where she developed an outstanding band program in Pickens County, Georgia. Bands under Mary Land’s direction have received invitations to perform at numerous music conferences and clinics.

Linard H. McCloud is a 1972 alumnus of Burke High School in Charleston, SC. In 1976, he received his BS in Music Education from Florida A&M University. Immediately following graduation, he was awarded the William P. Foster Scholarship to attend the University of Kansas, but decided to further his studies at the University of Iowa on a full fellowship, where he received his MA in Music Education.

John Nieto is the mariachi director at Brackenridge High School in San Antonio, a position he has held since 1990. He also serves as the lead mariachi instructor for San Antonio ISD, of which he is a graduate. He currently serves as arranger/copyist/instructor for the Albuquerque Mariachi Spectacular (21 years) and previously taught at similar workshops in Tucson, Arizona, and Las Cruces, New Mexico. John has been a guest clinician for Region Mariachi clinics throughout the state of Texas.

Sarah Ball has been teaching orchestra for twenty six years, currently at North Gwinnett Middle School in Sugar Hill, Ga, where she is one of two orchestra directors. The NGMS orchestra program has 475 students enrolled in grades 6-8. The 8 th grade orchestra was selected to perform at GMEA in January (2012), and received the GMEA Exemplary Performance Award in 2009 and 2015. In December 2013, the NGMS Honor Orchestra was one of three middle school orchestras selected internationally to perform in Chicago, Illinois at the Midwest International Band and Orchestra Clinic, and has performed at Carnegie Hall.The NGMS music department was recently awarded the inaugural Exemplary Program Award from GMEA (2017-18).

Matt Hudson is a versatile guitarist and dedicated music educator with deep roots in jazz, rock, R&B, and funk. Originally from Erie, Pennsylvania, he honed his craft at the University of Pittsburgh, studying under jazz luminaries Dr. Nathan Davis and Joe Negri, as well as contemporary composer Mathew Rosenblum. As a recipient of the prestigious Mellon Jazz Scholarship, he immersed himself in Pittsburgh’s vibrant jazz scene, performing alongside some of the city’s finest musicians.

Joe Sweet is a dedicated music educator and founder of the guitar program at Lane Tech College Preparatory High School in Chicago. For over twenty years, he has helped build a program that now serves more than four hundred students annually, offering eleven honors-level classes in beginning, intermediate, and advanced guitar.

Mrs. Melody Villegas has been the Director of Choirs at AC New Middle School since 2015. Under her direction, students have earned consistent Sweepstakes ratings at UIL Concert & Sight Reading contest. Her firm belief that everyone can sing has manifested in the Knight Choir by tripling its size from 88 to 300 students with a tenfold increase in male singers.

Before teaching in Mesquite, Mrs. Villegas taught at Ted Polk Middle School in Carrollton, TX, from 2009-2015. Under her direction, TPMS Choirs more than doubled in size, received consistent Sweepstakes awards, and increased their All-Region membership from 3 to 21 students. Additionally, she served as the TMEA Region 24 Middle School Vocal Division Coordinator from 2012-2014, and is the current Middle School Vocal Division Coordinator for Region 3.

Melody is a Mesquite native and a 2005 graduate of Poteet High School. In 2009, she graduated Cum Laude from the University of North Texas with a bachelor’s degree in Secondary Choral Music Education. She holds professional affiliations with TCDA, TMEA, and TMAA, and judges UIL, All-Region, and Solo and Ensemble contests in various regions across the state.

Mrs. Villegas lives in Mesquite with her husband, AJ, and their children, Ian and Fiona. The Villegases are members of White Rock UMC. When Mrs. V. is not serving the choir students of AC New, she spends time listening to podcasts, learning about history, chasing toddlers, and planning trips with her family.

Annie Ray currently serves as both the Orchestra Director and Performing Arts Department Chair at Annandale High School (AHS) in the Fairfax County Public School (FCPS) system. Annie is an advocate for providing universal access to quality music education and is known for founding and developing creative opportunities to make music accessible to students of all demographics.

Her establishment of the Fairfax Arts Coalition for Education division of Parent Orchestra annually teaches about 250 caregivers in FCPS annually to learn to play their child’s instrument and provides mentorship to current and upcoming music teachers. Annie also developed the Crescendo Orchestra program to make Orchestra curriculum accessible to students with significant developmental or intellectual disabilities. In April 2020, TEDx invited Annie to give the talk, The Sounds of Success, based on her approach in the classroom and what it means to meet all students where they are at.

Annie is a highly sought after keynote speaker at education conferences, frequent guest lecturer and artist-in-residence at the collegiate level, and has passed impactful performing arts education policy legislation in Virginia. She is a regular Region and All-State conductor, NAfME Southern Division Orchestra Representative, and is the co-founder of Motherhood and Music Education.

Her accolades include being named the 2024 Grammy Music Educator Award winner, Yamaha “40 Under 40” class of 2025, recipient of the Dr. Alice M. Hammel Inclusion in Music Education Award, and a four time Teacher of the Year winner including the 2023 FCPS Outstanding Secondary Teacher of the Year for her work with historically resilient communities and equity in education. Her story is featured in an exhibit at the new Milken Center for the American Dream museum in Washington D.C.

Annie’s mentors include Dennis Langevin, Brian Coatney, Dr. Elizabeth Chappell, Dr. Jaymee Haefner, and Naoko Nakamura. She is an active professional harpist, proud University of North Texas alumna, and currently resides in Arlington, Virginia with her husband Dr. Irving Ray and their children Eloise, Millie, and Isaiah. Annie is an adventurer at heart, and her biggest bucket list item is to one day win The Amazing Race.