Taylor Dwyer.

Consulting & curriculum

Build a percussion program that outlasts any one director.

Curriculum, assessment, and program structure — built so your staff can run it without me. Most of what looks like a talent problem turns out to be a missing system.

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What I build

Curriculum

  • TEKS-aligned scope and sequence
  • Beginner percussion programs
  • Beginner placement and aptitude testing
  • Concert percussion curriculum
  • Marching percussion curriculum
  • Lesson planning frameworks

Assessment

  • Rubrics aligned to UIL, TEKS, and PAS
  • Pass-off systems for rudiments and scales
  • Chair and placement audition material
  • Progress reporting that parents understand

Program structure

  • Percussion program audits
  • Equipment planning and budgets
  • Front ensemble and marching design
  • Staff development
  • Section culture and leadership

How an engagement works

1. Audit

I come look. What's actually happening in the percussion room, what your beginners are being taught, what equipment you have and what condition it's in, and where students fall off between sixth grade and the varsity section. You get an honest read, including the parts that aren't fun to hear.

2. Priorities

Everything can't be first. We pick the two or three changes that will move the most, and I tell you what to ignore for now. A plan you can execute beats a plan that's complete.

3. Build

I write the actual materials — scope and sequence, rubrics, pass-off sheets, audition packets, whatever the priorities call for. Standards-aligned, and formatted so a first-year teacher could pick it up and run it.

4. Handoff

Materials are useless if only I know how they work. We walk your staff through it, adjust what doesn't fit your program, and set a check-in so it doesn't quietly die in a drawer.

Who this is for: directors building or rebuilding a 6–12 percussion program, programs where section quality swings year to year, and anyone who inherited a percussion room and doesn't know where to start.

Scope and rates

Engagements run from a single audit with a written plan to a full-year curriculum build. Because the work is project-based, so is the pricing — I quote after the first conversation, once I know what you're actually asking for.

If your budget is fixed, say so up front. I'd rather scope the work to your number than send you a proposal you can't act on.

For reference

A rebuild, in short.

A dormant 4A program I rebuilt after COVID went from eleven students to twenty-seven — with Division I UIL ratings, Area Finals in four of five years, and a 2022 UIL State marching qualification. Its drumline returned to contest for the first time in seven years, and won Best Cymbal Line three years running against 6A programs.

Start with a conversation.

Tell me about your program and what you want it to look like in three years. The first fifteen minutes are free, and you'll get a straight answer about whether I'm the right person for it.

Also available: beginner placement testing, mock auditions, and running live auditions.

Request consulting