Thursday, June 25, 2020
www.plainvillecitizen.com
Volume 19, Number 20
Veteran band director is Teacher of the Year Talotta, who was nominated by district colleague Michael Boncimino, has been an educator for 36 years, serving as the band director at Plainville High School for the past 24 years, together with serving as the eighth grade band director at the Middle School of Plainville for the past nine years.
Sam Kimble's Band is pictured: Al Ayers, Sam Kimble, Gail Johnson, Leon Stinson, Taffie Ann Walker and Henry Bentley.
Plainville has rich legacy of African American musicians In celebration of African American Music Appreciation Month, the Plainville Historical Society has posted a history of Plainville’s African American musicians and bands on its website, plainvillehistoricalsociety.com. The article is written by Gail Johnson
Williams, the historical society’s specialist in local African American history.
What is so special about her latest work is that Williams herself is part of the story. She was a longA Plainville native, time member of Sam KimWilliams has presented nu- ble’s band and was the onmerous programs related ly woman R&B electric to the important role of the bass player among area African American commu- bands. nity in town.
See Musicians, A7
Also, Talotta served as the Head Brass Judge for the Connecticut Music Educators Association (CMEA) Northern Regional auditions and adjudicated jazz trumpet auditions for CMEA’s northern regional auditions. Talotta holds a bachelor’s degree in music from The University of Hartford – Hartt School of Music and a master’s degree in administration, supervision and curriculum development from Central Connecticut State University. When asked about his philosophy of teaching, Talotta explained, “Very little
of what the band does – 8th grade, PHS or Jazz – belongs solely to me; it’s not my room, it’s our Talotta room, our rehearsal, our time together, our accomplishment, our failure – it’s our excellence we strive for. If I had a motto of sorts it would be that a good, productive rehearsal has equal amounts of laughs and learning; you walk away smiling from the fun but also content because you know you are better at something than you were when you sat down.” And when explaining how he inspires a lifelong love of learning in students, Talotta noted, “Learning has to be enjoyable but the line at where fun ends and the hard work begins or how to mix the two, has to be clear. I am always also trying to instill in kids skills and an appreciation for music that will always be with them. If they remember that they garnered that appreciation See Talotta, A2
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Plainville Community Schools has named band director Dominic Talotta the 2020-2021 Teacher of the Year.