Welcome to Pass the Baton! 

All too often, the music classroom stifles students with one-size-fits-all curricula and repertoire. In Pass the Baton, Kathryn Finch and Theresa Hoover turn that paradigm on its head, offering a vision of music education that empowers students as critical thinkers who exercise voice and choice to question, discover, connect, and play like never before—in and out of the classroom.Pass the Baton offers a comprehensive guide to crafting engaging music lessons that transform students from passive consumers to vibrant creatives. Whether you’re looking to rethink general music or overhaul your ensemble groups, Pass the Baton is chock-full of generative, actionable, and impactful tools. Kathryn and Theresa have drawn on deep research and years of experience in the music room to provide a guide for all music educators to create a learner-centered environment and give students the opportunity to truly own the creative process.

Want to learn more? 

Podcast: Pass the Baton Podcast

YouTube Channel: Pass the Baton 

Book: Pass the Baton: Empowering All Music Students 

Kathryn Finch has twenty-plus years of experience in the elementary general music classroom and currently teaches in Northbrook, IL. She speaks passionately about the shift in music education from teacher-led to student-led activities. She focuses on practical ways music educators can transform their classrooms to empower their students to own their learning.

Dr. Theresa Hoover is a music educator, speaker, and writer. She is an advocate for student voice in the music room and helps teachers empower students throughout their musical experiences by transforming their classrooms into student-centered learning environments. Currently, Theresa serves as a Teaching Professor of Music Education at East Carolina University where she teaches undergraduate and graduate music education courses. Her K-12 teaching experience spans instrumental, general, and vocal music across a variety of settings in Northern Virginia and Pennsylvania.