A Special Award of
The John Philip Sousa Foundation
Jon Eckman is currently the director of instrumental music at Bartow Senior High/IB/Summerlin Academy and the conductor of the Bartow Adult Concert Band. He is currently in his 2oth year at Bartow Senior and 25th year of teaching in Polk County. He is originally from Port Charlotte, Florida, and graduated from Florida Southern College. Mr. Eckman began his teaching career at Fort Meade Middle/Senior High School and after 6 years of teaching succeeded Jan Coolman at Bartow High School. Under his direction, the bands at Bartow Senior have consistently earned superior ratings at Concert, Marching, and State MPA’s. The Bartow High School Band has performed in Nashville, Washington DC, New Orleans, New Your City, Atlanta, and at the Chicago International Music Festival.
Mr. Eckman is a graduate of the Florida Schools Music Association Summer Institute and is certified in International Baccalaureate Instruction for World Music. He adjudicates throughout the state of Florida for Solo and Ensemble, Concert Bands, Marching Bands and is a guest conductor/clinician. He is a member of the American School Band Directors Association, a member of the Association of Concert Bands, served as an FBA District Chairman for three terms, and is serving on the FBA Legacy Committee. He was named Bartow High School Teacher of the Year in 2011. He received the Medal of Merit from the Bartow in 2018 for community service within his profession. He is a graduate of the City of Bartow Leadership program. Preserving the history of band in the community of Bartow has been a constant goal. Most recently, he was the recipient of the Oliver Hobbs Award and designed a state-of-the-art music facility that transforms the entire facility into a recording studio. The facility has been named BHS-Studio-B Fine Arts Academy. He plans to create a model fine arts program that uses the audio engineering to elevate live performing and student achievement.
The Bandworld Legion of Honor was established in 1989 to honor, over the course of a year, eight of the finest band directors in our business.
Recipients have taught for at least fifteen years, have maintained a very high-quality concert band program, and have contributed significantly to the profession through dedication to bands and band music.
Each is honored at the annual Sousa Foundation awards ceremony during the Midwest Band Clinic in Chicago, Illinois.
Chairman of the Legion of Honor Committee is Terry Austin, Virginia Commonwealth University.
When asked what factors do you consider most important in shaping your career, Jon states, “There are numerous factors that shaped my career. I have always been creative and loved to find an outlet for that creativity. Music allowed me to do that on a regular basis. Life has met me with many challenges and people telling me that I could not succeed fueled my fire to succeed. However, if I had to choose one factor that shaped my career, it would be the lasting impact of fellow music directors. It started with my middle school and high school band directors. These two directors saw the spark I had for music and encouraged me to pursue my love of music. They encouraged me to find avenues to pursue learning more about music by supporting me as I marched DCI and again when I chose to pursue a degree in music education. They both allowed me to learn from them as an adult at the beginning of my teaching career. As a new teacher, they would take my phone calls when I was struggling with a piece of music, and even would travel in the evenings to help me with a rehearsal. Without their passion for music, their passion for seeing me succeed, and their passion for education, I would not be where I am today. Next, John DeYoung, who is currently the oldest living member of the Florida Bandmasters Association, has provided me with a mentorship that continues to influence me in how I teach my students and grow my music program. He has provided me with wisdom and experiences that allow me to recognize the best ways to help my students. Along with John, other directors such as Frank Howes, Jimmy Parker, Bill Miller, Jack Crew, Ivan Wansley, Phil Wharton, and Dr. J. Jossim have invested their time and energy in me to ensure that I am successful in this career. Their vast knowledge and expertise have been a lifeline. Lastly my parents are a big part of who I am. They have both said that I received the best parts of them. My inherited my mother’s perseverance and my father’s creativity. If there was something my mother wanted to accomplished there was nothing that would stop her from making it happen. My father who worked for NASA during the Apollo mission is the most inventive person I have ever met. The man could tune a toaster oven into a radio station. I can fix just about everything from welding to electronics to music and can see things to the end. My parents gave that to me. My students often ask how did I learn how to do all of these things and I tell them I surrounded myself with amazing people and have never been afraid to try to do it myself. It is my goal that I pay it forward and continue to instill the passion for music in all the students who participate in my music program.”
His professional philosophy statement is, “I have a simple philosophy….Know who you’re stuffing, know what you’re stuffing, and stuff them. Know what you’re stuffing… I have worked very hard in my career to maintain my love for lifelong learning. The longer that I am teaching, the more I realize the importance of ensuring that I am continuing to learn and grow. If I become stagnant, then they will not learn all they can. Know who you’re stuffing… My next part of this philosophy is building relationships with my students. I need to know what they love, how they learn, and what they want to do in life. The more I learn about them and the more I can get them to realize I care about them, the more they will allow me to teach them. Stuff them… Lastly, you must do whatever you have to do to get the information to the students. Failure is NOT an option. My students know that I will not allow them to quit until they have it right. They know that I will make them do it again until they can say that they were successful. I often explain to folks that the nature of music itself is emotional and it allows me to impact students and performs like no other educational discipline. teachers often ask how I understand my students so well and why the respond so well to me and I tell them “I have the signal flow of music”.
As the conductor of the Bartow Adult Concert Band, as well as being a public school teacher, I get to see the clear benefits of music education. I get to watch students find their love of music and then I get to watch the adults continue using their love of music. Music is the only lifelong skill where you never get to old to participate.”
