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 since 2006 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 fundraiser.
The Shelburne Middle School Band regularly attends the VBODA concert assessment and the Kings Dominion Festival of Music where they receive consistent superior ratings. In 2023 they were invited to perform at the Virginia Music Educator’s Association Conference in Richmond, Virginia.
In recent years, Charlie has been invited to guest conduct several honor bands around the state. He particularly enjoys cultivating community quickly with young musicians, and motivating them to perform to their highest level. He enjoys an active adjudication schedule for both the marching arts and concert band assessments.
Furthermore, he enjoys many performance opportunities outside the classroom, as they enhance his work as an educator. He served as the Principal Percussionist with the Waynesboro Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Peter Wilson for 10 years. He is a founding member of the Valley Wind Ensemble, located in Harrisonburg, VA. He performed with Valley Winds at the 2019 VMEA conference in a special concert highlighting under-represented composers. He marched in the 2004 Crossmen Drum and Bugle Corps as well as the 2024 Crossmen Alumni Corps.
Charlie received a bachelors of Music Education with a minor in Mathematics from Radford University in 2006, and in 2022 he completed a Masters Degree in Educational Leadership from James Madison University.
Charlie resides in Staunton, VA with his wife of 17 years and their exuberant four-year-old. When not teaching or performing, Charlie enjoys PC gaming, rollerblading, and biking around Staunton with his family.