The Flying Baton
is a Podcast dedicated to beginning band. This Podcast was founded 2020 by Charlie Nesmith and will cover a varietey of topics as it relates to teaching young band students. We’ll have tips, pedagogy, interviews and more! Be sure to subscribe on your Podcast app of choice!
Where did the name come from?
One day while excitedly conducting, my baton hit the music stand in front of me. Somehow it flew upwards and got stuck in the ceiling tile. Everyone in the room laughed for a good 10 minutes about it. Even 5 years later kids still come up and ask me if I remember “the incident”. In fact, students who aren’t even in band have come up and asked me about it and ask how funny it was. To me, the flying baton incident is a good reminder that years after students are gone, they may not remember all the music they learned that year, but they do remember how you reacted to certain situations. On that day, I chose not to take my job so seriously and laugh at something silly. It made a lasting impression on my students and myself.
Your Host
Charlie Nesmith is a music educator, percussionist, and host of The Flying Baton Podcast. He has been an educator for 17 years in the Virginia Public School System.
Currently, he is one of two band teachers at Shelburne Middle School in Staunton Virginia. During his time there he has founded the Woodwind Ensemble, an extensive free after-school lesson program, an annual Halloween Concert, and an annual Band Banquet performance where students show off their solo and ensemble skills in a banquet fundraiser setting.
For the last four years the Shelburne Middle School Band has participated in the Kings Dominion Festival of Music and received 3 Grand Champion Awards. They have also attended the VBODA Band Assessment for the last 6 years where they have earned superior ratings.
Charlie has served as the Principal Percussionist with the Waynesboro Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Peter Wilson for the last 10 years. He has also a founding member of the Valley Wind Ensemble from Harrisonburg, VA.
In 2009 Charlie started Marimbalogy, an educational youtube channel that was one of the first sources for mallet instruction on the internet.
Prior to becoming a professional educator and percussionist, Charlie received his bachelors of Music and a minor is Mathematics from Radford University in 2006 where he was awarded the Presser Scholarship.
He marched in the 2004 Crossmen Drum and Bugle Corps under the direction of Lee Beddis, Steven Ballard, and Drew Schneiders.
When he’s not enjoying performing or teaching music, Charlie is an avid PC gamer, rollerblader, and hiker. He has enjoyed 16 years of marriage with his wife Kate. Together they are raising a very cute toddler.