Judy Bush
Describe your music background and career?
I come from a family of mostly string players and vocalists on my dad’s side. My college career was a little bumpy, beginning as a clarinet major at the University of Kentucky, but switching to voice mid Freshman year. I dropped out of college after my sophomore year with an embarrassing GPA. After nine years, which included marriage and two children, I returned to school at Northern Kentucky University (greater Cincinnati) and despite the birth of my third child, finished my BME with a stint on the Dean’s List. I began teaching in Kentucky, then moved to Ohio where I taught in the Cincinnati parochial system and began my masters degree in educational administration at Xavier University while also taking classes at CCM and Miami of Ohio University. With a year left to complete, our family made the decision to move to Nebraska for my husband to get his master’s degree. I switched back to music ed at UNL and taught K-12 choral music at Bennet/Palmyra, Lincoln Lutheran and elementary general music with Lincoln Public Schools with my last four years as Music Teacher Leader in Curriculum/Instruction.
Describe a meaningful teaching moment from your career.
There are so many meaningful teaching moments that it’s hard to find just one, and it’s probably the reason I stayed in education for so long. Those meaningful moments involve watching the faces of students who achieve something they didn’t think they could, especially in a collaborative setting, the responses of parents who are proud of what their child has achieved and how my students taught, learned from and encouraged each other in the music classroom.
What type of arts do you like to be involved in or arts events you continue to support?
I was never much of a performer, preferring to be behind the curtain or with my back to an audience, but I still have a love for band and drum corps, musicals and opera. I love adjudicating middle level and high school music events when I can in order to encourage students in their efforts and to continue their musical endeavors.
Why is arts education important in the development of the whole child?
While children are born with differing ability levels, they come to us as a complete package of possibilities. As responsible adults, we take those possibilities and develop them, from speech to writing, movement, music and visual art – not just math and reading. I believe the thing that keeps us from developing the arts is that so many look at it as a talent instead of an innate ability in every human. All you have to do is watch a toddler respond to music without any training and you know this to be true. While it may sound trite, the arts teach us what it is to be a creative, kind, caring, empathetic human being.
Please share anything else you would like to share with us.
I’m very proud to be married 44 years to my favorite music educator and proud of my three boys and two grandsons. They’ve supported me in probably the most meaningful experiences in my last twenty years which have come from my time serving on state and national boards for music education. I have met and learned from so many people from different backgrounds, perspectives and experiences. It has expanded and many times changed my way of thinking, hopefully for the better. These same people have modeled servant leadership which is an area I’m still developing.
