Andrew Zweibel

My name is Andrew (Andy) Zweibel, and I am the director of the magnet band program at South Dade Senior High School in Homestead, FL.

About Me

I was born in Chicago, and raised in the city’s suburbs of Evanston and Northbrook. I took interest to music at an early age, enjoying listening to The Beatles and the Glenn Miller Big Band as a toddler. I began studying piano at the age of 8, and at age 12 I traded in my piano lessons for a trumpet in beginning band. As soon as I reached middle school band, I realized that I wanted to stay involved with band. Once in High School, I began realizing that more than just being involved, I wanted to make band (particularly High School band) my living. I became involved at Glenbrook North High School on the band staff, serving as librarian for my sophomore and junior years, and a Drum Major for the Spartan Marching Band my senior year. I also was on the planning committee for Glenbrook North’s 2007 Turnabout dance, planned by the Spartan Marching Band. In the Spring of 2007, I was accepted to the University of Miami Frost School of Music for a degree in Music Education, and I began my studies in Coral Gables, FL in the Fall of 2007.

Since arriving at UMiami, I have become extremely involved with my passion in music. I am an active participant in the University of Miami Band of the Hour, as a section leader for the 2008 and 2009 bands, as well as the band captain for the 2009 season. I am also an active member of Tau Beta Sigma, the national honorary service sorority for members of the college band. I also hold the position of President-Elect of UMiami’s chapter of the Florida Collegiate Music Educator’s National Conference; I will take over the role of President in the spring of 2010. I have plans to graduate from UMiami in 2011 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Music Education, and I am currently considering options for graduate school.

My Blogging Story

I started this blog in the Fall of 2007, when I began my degree program at the University of Miami. Back then, it was hosted on blogspot.com for free. My initial reason for blogging was to keep my family and friends from the Midwest updated on my life and experiences during college. As my first year at UMiami progressed, I became more interested in the content I was learning in my Music Education courses, and developed opinions of my own that I wanted to share with the world. As such, in July of 2008, I took the proverbial plunge and purchased the domain that shares my name, as well as some webspace for my blog. I installed the WordPress blog system, and a few plugins and themes, and so was born the current version of andyzweibel.com!’

Around the end of 2008, I found myself looking around MusTech.net, a website run by Dr. J. Pisano of Grove City College. I noticed that Dr. Pisano, whose site I had visited before in passing, was running a campaign to compile a list of 100 Music Education Bloggers (ME Bloggers, for short) by January 1st, 2009. I applied to be one of the last ME Bloggers, and on December 16th I had the privilege of announcing that I was added to the Official List of 100 ME Bloggers. Since then, I have been blogging about both my personal life here at UMiami, as well as thoughts I have about Music Education.

In the summer of 2009, I had the idea of creating a podcast specifically for Music Education Majors. The idea was well received, but the initial set-up proved to be a challenge, and it became clear that I would be much more likely to succeed in the upkeep of the project if it was in blog form. Thus was born MusicEdMajor.net, a blog dedicated specifically to helping Music Education majors get the most out of their course of study. Since its inception in June 2009, MusicEdMajor.net has been the primary home to my Music Education-related blogging.

South Dade

I came to South Dade Senior High School after graduating as the “Outstanding Graduating Senior” from the Frost School. I have been teaching at South Dade since August 2011, and I currently serve as the director of the magnet band program. I am thrilled to be at such a large and diverse school, with such a supportive administration and faculty!

My Interests

• Music (any kind)
• Band (Concert, Jazz, Marching, Athletic)
• Social Media
• Music Education (particularly secondary instrumental)
• Technology
• Making Friends
• Hurricane Sports

Professional Organizations

• National Association for Music Education – NAfME (2011 – )
• Florida Music Educators Association – FMEA (2011 – )
• Florida Bandmasters Association – FBA (2011- )
• Technology in Music Education – TI:ME (2011 – )
• President-UM Chapter, Florida Collegiate MENC (2010-2011)
• Music Director-Gamma Epsilon Chapter, Tau Beta Sigma (2010-2011)
• President-Elect-UM Chapter, Florida Collegiate MENC (2009-2010)
• Tau Beta Sigma Honorary Band Service Sorority (2008-2011)
• Collegiate Member-MENC (Music Educator’s National Conference) (2007-2011)

Undergraduate Performing Ensembles

• University of Miami Frost Wind Ensemble (2009-2011)
• University of Miami University Band (2008-2010)
• University of Miami “Band of the Hour” (2007-2010)
  • Trumpet Section Leader (2008-2010)
  • Band Captain (2009-2010)
• University of Miami “Gale Force Winds” (2007-2010)
• University of Miami Men’s/Women’s Basketball Bands (2008-2010)
• University of Miami Frost Symphonic Winds (2007-2009)