Catherine Bond– Orchestra Director

What do you enjoy most about your role at Marshall? I have been the Orchestra Director at Marshall since 2009. I love getting to make music with these amazing students every day! Marshall truly is a special place with the best students, supportive parents, and community. In orchestra, we have beginners all the way through very advanced level string players, and each student contributes to the overall success of the program. I am also so fortunate to work with an awesome Performing Arts team, supportive Administration, as well as wonderful strings teachers at the middle and elementary schools in the Marshall Pyramid! 



What’s one fun fact students might not know about you? One fun fact about me that students might not know is that I co-coach my 9-yo son's flag football team (along with my husband, who has a lot more of the football knowledge, but I have learned a lot!) It has been a wonderful way to use my teaching skills in another area, and it has been a great experience to help develop our team. We have made it to the Super Bowl twice! (Still waiting on that Super Bowl win - maybe next season!)

What advice would you give to students about making the most of high school? I believe success in high school comes down to three key things I share with all my freshmen during the Meet the Counselor session: attendance, completing assignments, and asking for help when needed.

Do you have a hidden talent or a hobby outside of school? My talent/hobby isn't hidden, but I do play violin outside of school! I play with a string quartet (mostly weddings and corporate events), and then I also play with the American Festival Pops Orchestra, which is a ton of fun! I started playing violin at age 9 and decided I wanted to be a school orchestra teacher when I was in high school, as a result of being inspired by my high school orchestra teacher.

If you weren’t in education, what would you be doing instead? If I weren't in education, I would love to work in event planning! Aside from the music teaching/directing, being a secondary music director is pretty much an event planning position! :) From planning the year's calendar and space reservations, to coordinating concert & rehearsal logistics, planning our annual music trip, fundraisers, boosters, managing finances, and hosting/planning various District, Regional & State events - it's a lot of administrative work behind the scenes! I feel that a strength of mine is to be able to think through an event (or obstacle!) and work through it so that I can make the experience the best it can be for the students and the staff involved. 

What advice would you give to students about making the most of high school? The advice I would give to students about making the most of their high school experience would be to find your niche and take advantage of the opportunities available to you! Within the Marshall community, there are so many wonderful subsets of community - not only in the performing arts but also in sports, clubs, etc. You don't have to do everything, but find at least one thing and commit to it. And it is possible to do more than one thing, but it might take some time management! There will never be another time in your life where you will be with the same people every day for an entire year so find some friends with some common interests and get involved!

What’s one thing you hope students take away from your class or role? One thing I hope that my students take away from being involved in orchestra is a true appreciation for the arts. You don't have to play music forever (although I always encourage my students to continue playing because you will never regret continuing, but you will regret quitting! That's an entirely different topic!) BUT - you can attend concerts, support your future kids/nieces/nephews, etc., and have a deeper understanding and appreciation for quality string playing and musicianship! Music is truly a universal language that unites us all as humans, which is more important than ever.