From Garage Startup to Music For All's Global Reach

Resources

Resources & Recommendations

Books

• [Scott McCormick's Dad's Book] - A book written by Scott McCormick's father, which details his life and experiences, including the challenges faced by Bands of America in its early years.

People Mentioned

• Dr. William D. Revelli - Long-time conductor at the University of Michigan and a significant figure in the history of national concert band contests; he was instrumental in the vision for the National Concert Band Festival.
• Gary Green - Mentioned as a guest on a previous podcast episode, whose story brought back memories for Scott McCormick.
• Larry McCormick - Scott McCormick's father, owner and operator of McCormick Enterprises, who initiated Marching Bands of America and was a true visionary in the music education field.
• Alfred - Mentioned as having a similar early career path to Scott McCormick, starting a job while still in college.
• Gary Beckner - A great human being mentioned as part of the original team at Whitewater.
• Nick Valenziano - A great human being mentioned as part of the original team at Whitewater.
• Mike Davis - Mentioned as being with Larry McCormick at a band show and expressing interest in starting something similar; he also gave drum lessons to Scott's brother.
• Dr. Tim (Tim Lautzenheiser) - Scott McCormick's mentor and "big brother," who served as Executive Director and helped transition Marching Bands of America into Bands of America; he is also mentioned as having a unique bond with Scott.
• Kevin - Scott McCormick's younger brother, who was involved with McCormick's video project after the company was sold.
• Doug Beach - Scott McCormick's college band director at Elmhurst, who would bring in guest artists.
• Clark Terry - A great trumpet player who was a guest artist at Elmhurst College and offered Scott McCormick a professional position.
• Mike Turner - Headed up the Summer Symposium guard curriculum in 1984 and brought Chuck Hensen in as a clinician.
• Debbie Lafferty - Scott McCormick's first hire in 1984, who is still with the organization.
• Dick Janick - Larry McCormick's vice president at McCormick's, who later bought the company and was the public address announcer for Grand Nationals before Chuck Hensen.
• Lisa Preston - A close friend of Scott McCormick, who ran reconnaissance for the summer camp at Bloomington Normal High School.
• Chuck Preston - Lisa Preston's father, a long-time board member and executive at Motorola, who brought business acumen to the board.
• Tom Macleroy - A dean at UW Whitewater who served on the board.
• Mike Bridges - A former colleague of Scott McCormick at Bands of America, now living in the same town, with whom Scott shares a funny anecdote about moving a trailer.
• Mark Whitlock - A guest who shared a memory about Spring High School's performance at Grand Nationals in 1993 and the National Concert Band Festival in 2005.
• Bill Watson - Director of Spring High School, whose band's performance at Grand Nationals in 1993 was highly inspirational.
• Eric Martin - Mentioned as being invited to talk to Mark Whitlock's parent base to convince them about the National Concert Band Festival.
• Matt Carter - A long-time board member and advocate from the Indianapolis Convention and Visitors Association, who was instrumental in the decision to move the organization to Indianapolis.
• Mary Catherine Hiller - An amazing event manager at the Georgia Dome who deeply embraced the Bands of America events.
• Mike Fox - A key contact at the Hoosier Dome/RCA Dome, who was highly supportive of Bands of America events.
• Colonel Gabriel - Mentioned as one of the influential figures consulted during the development of the concert band festival.
• John Paynter - A long-time acquaintance of Scott McCormick and a significant figure at Northwestern University, who hosted the first two National Concert Band Festivals and was honored with a commissioning project.
• Ray Kramer - A respected educator and conductor who was involved with the Honor Band of America tours.
• Eugene Corporon - Mentioned as one of the influential figures consulted during the development of the concert band festival.
• Frederick Fennell - Mentioned as one of the influential figures consulted during the development of the concert band festival; also noted for a humorous incident during a rehearsal.
• Richard Crane - A highly respected educator in Texas, who became a front person for the National Concert Band Festival.
• Gail - Richard Crane's wife, who was involved with the National Concert Band Festival from day one.
• Bob Buckner - Introduced Scott McCormick to Richard Crane.
• H. Robert Reynolds - Interviewed with Dr. Revelli about his history at Michigan; also conducted the Honor Band of America in Japan.
• Mark Camphouse - Commissioned to write the first piece for the Paynter Commissioning Project ("Whatsoever Things") in 1997.
• Bill Galvin - Mentioned as being a student in the Honor Bands.
• Sean - Mentioned as being a student in the Honor Bands.
• Frank Ticheli - Commissioned to write "Vesuvius" for the Paynter Commissioning Project in 1999.
• Gary Markum - Accompanied Scott McCormick on trips to the All Japan Marching Band Championship.
• Richard Saucido - Joined Scott McCormick on trips to the All Japan Marching Band Championship.
• Bob Morrison - Started the Music for All Foundation and later discussed a merger with Scott McCormick at the Summer NAMM show.
• Mike Bennett - From Yamaha, who helped open the checkbook to sustain and grow the organization.
• Glenda Plummer - From Yamaha, who helped open the checkbook to sustain and grow the organization.
• John Whitman - Had an office space within the Bands of America suite in Indianapolis.
• Chad Kohler - An employee of Music for All for many years, now the director of bands at Fishers, Indiana, and Scott McCormick's daughter's band director.
• Dr. James Weaver - The newly hired CEO of Music for All, formerly from the National High School Federation.
• Greg Scapellato - Sent Scott McCormick a college paper titled "My Favorite Teacher Essay," discussing Scott's leadership and influence.

Organizations & Institutions

• Bands of America (BOA) - The organization celebrating its 50th anniversary, initially started as Marching Bands of America.
• McCormick Enterprises - Larry McCormick's company, which initially funded Marching Bands of America.
• The Cavaliers - A drum corps that Larry McCormick was heavily involved with.
• Madison Scouts - A drum corps that Larry McCormick was heavily involved with.
• Ludwig Drum Company - The company that eventually bought Larry McCormick's drumsticks.
• Beatrice Foods - An early sponsor of Marching Bands of America, which later started Music Bowl.
• Music Bowl - An entity started by Beatrice Foods after they broke off from Marching Bands of America.
• Indianapolis Convention and Visitors Association (ICVA) - An organization that worked to relocate Bands of America to Indianapolis.
• Yamaha - National presenting sponsor of Bands of America since 1997.
• NAMM (National Association of Music Merchants) - The organization that hosts the Summer NAMM show.
• Music for All Foundation - An organization started by Bob Morrison, focused on research backing the benefits of music education.
• National High School Federation - The organization that James Weaver came from before becoming CEO of Music for All.

Courses & Educational Resources

• Summer Symposium - An event initially held at Whitewater, then moved to Illinois State University, aimed at providing educational experiences.
• National Concert Band Festival - An event established to showcase excellence in high school concert bands, initially hosted at Northwestern University.
• Orchestra America - An expansion of the festival to include orchestral music.
• Honor Orchestra America - An honor ensemble associated with Orchestra America.
• Jazz Band of America - An honor ensemble that debuted in 2007 as part of the festival.
• Honor Band of America - An honor ensemble that emerged from the concert band festival, which toured internationally.
• Paynter Commissioning Project - A project initiated to fund new music works in honor of John Paynter.
• Honor Band - Ensembles of top student musicians, such as the one that toured Europe and Japan.
• Tournament of Roses - An event where the marching honor band performs every four years.
• Musicians Abroad National Honor Band and Choir - A collaboration with Music for All for an international tour in 2027.

Websites & Online Resources

• musicforall.org/podcast - Where listeners can record and submit their own stories for the 50th-anniversary podcast.

Other Resources

• "Stars and Stripes" - A piece conducted by Dr. Revelli with the Honor Band of America.
• "Whatsoever Things" - The first piece commissioned for the Paynter Commissioning Project, written by Mark Camphouse in 1997.
• "Vesuvius" - A piece commissioned for the Paynter Commissioning Project, written by Frank Ticheli in 1999.
• Music Travel Consultants (MTC) - The company Scott McCormick now works for, which has a division called Musicians Abroad, collaborating with Music for All on international tours.
• All Japan Marching Band Championship - An event that Scott McCormick and others were invited to, leading to discussions about Japanese bands participating in Grand Nationals.