My Biography by Steven D. Churchwell 11SEP08 Born in Colorado, USA Grew up in Spokane, WA with three sisters and a matched set of parents Started piano lessons at age 5 Started playing the trombone in 4th grade Worked on a cattle ranch for 4 summers Worked on a turkey ranch for 1 summer Drove Zamboni (ice resurfacing machine) for the City of Spokane for 8 years and Sun Valley Resort, ID for 1 summer (met my future wife) Installed lawn irrigation for 6 years Worked doing sound reinforcement (sound systems) for political, sport, music, and public events for 10 years Counselor/Director Ross Point Music Camp in Post Falls, ID for 18 summers Graduated EWU with degrees in Music Education and Secondary Mathematics Education Taught K-12 Music and High School Mathematics for the Liberty School District in Spangle, WA for 5 years Joined the 560th Air Force Band – The Air National Guard Band of the Northwest playing the trombone and tuba for 10 years Married to my wife (a 2nd grade teacher at Hoover) for 9 years Taught K-8 Music and Middle School Mathematics for the Wapato School District in Wapato, WA for 7 years Have two daughters 3 and 5 years old Visited wife’s family in Panamá for 2 summers Taught K-5 Music for the Yakima School District in Yakima, WA for 1 year Teach 1-8 Music at Discovery Lab School and 8th Grade Choir at Wilson Middle School in Yakima, Washington this year Member of Westside Baptist Church in Yakima, WA YSD phone interview in Panama Our school offers a variety of musical opportunities for our students: Beginning band (5th grade) Beginning orchestra (5th grade) Marching band Concert band Advanced Orchestra Zero period jazz band General music (grades 1-5) Discovery Lab School also participates in the Sunfair parade , the Veteran’s Day parade, and the Memorial Day parade. Our school also participates in the Spring String and Band Festivals and the West Valley middle school band and orchestra competition. Each year, we send multiple students to the regional solo/ensemble contest in Ellensburg at CWU. Last year, the orchestra performed the music for the annual DLS Shakespeare play, “Twelfth Night”. At graduation, some outstanding 7th grade wind players performed “Pomp and Circumstance” with the orchestra accompanying them. Thank you for taking an interest in our music program. Feel free to come visit and see all the exciting things that are going on at DLS!! Yakima School District 2007 String Festival Honors This Web Site is ©Ben Smith 2005 All images and original text are rights protected For permission to use content, email independntsktr@msn.com