Guest Post: Tim Ryan - Teaching band and chorus on Kwajalein

Never in my life did I think I would be the band and chorus director for a school on an army base in the middle of the Pacific Ocean!  Welcome to Kwajalein-a hidden paradise found in the Marshall Islands.

Kwajalein is a small atoll that once was a battleground site during WWII.  Today, The USA uses Kwajalein as a defense missile base-and there are many unique jobs found on Kwaj.  I so happen to get to be in charge of the central Pacific's most dangerous band!

Currently, I'm teaching 5th grade band, 6th grade band, Jr High band, High School band, stage band, and I will be starting from scratch this year a choir program that has been non-existent for years.





My favorite part about being here is how well music is respected. Kwajalein Jr./Sr. High school has 114 students total and I have 70 of them in my band program. The entire 5th grade class chose to do band this year and nearly all the 6th grade decided to come back to band this school year.  The first day of choir I had 21 students show up. By the second class I had doubled to 42!

Right now I'm working on getting a trailer mounted to my bike (everyone travels on bikes here).  I will keep updating as I continue my journey here on Kwaj!