Great Scot April 2019 Great Scot_156_April_2019_Online | Page 38

Staff in profile
Interview:
Megan Philip
Head of Woodwind and Head of Bands
What inspired you to be a teacher?
As a kid I was either hitting a tennis ball
against a brick wall or playing my clarinet. I
loved music so much I convinced my mum to let
me go to a specialist music high school (instead
of my local school), where I could play music
all the time and be surrounded by other kids
with the same passion. That was the Victorian
College of the Arts secondary school. I then
moved into tertiary life at the VCA, studying
music performance.
It’s common to take on a few private
students to help pay the bills while studying. I
found I really enjoyed sharing my love of music
with other people and helping them ‘get it’
for themselves. My first real school job was at
Kilvington Grammar School, where I taught
clarinet and saxophone for a number of years,
and I also did some emergency teaching
for the Education Department. I was playing
saxophone in a rock band on weekends and
playing clarinet for every Gilbert and Sullivan
light opera I could fit in. It was a crazy time, but
lots of fun too!
After university I worked in a few schools,
and it was at two of those schools I met George
Logie-Smith OBE, a former Director of Music
at Scotch. He became a real mentor to me and
encouraged me to apply for a job at Scotch.
That was 30 years ago, which seems ridiculous
as I am not that old (!). I started here on two
to three days a week and was fortunate to be
offered a salaried full-time position a year or so
later, by the then new Director of Music, John
Ferguson.
What are your roles at Scotch and what
do you enjoy about your work?
I am currently Head of Woodwind and
Head of Bands. This means I oversee the
woodwind department, in which there are
approximately 140 boys and 11 staff. I oversee
the management of these boys’ individual
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Great Scot Number 156 – April 2019
lessons and ensure they are in the
most suitable ensembles. We have
five concert bands, four big bands
and various smaller ensembles,
involving approximately 300 boys.
My teaching includes
instrumental classes for Years 5, 6,
and 7, conducting the Intermediate
Concert Band, the Show Band,
various chamber ensembles and
teaching individual lessons for
clarinet students from Years
4-12. After three years as Head
of Bands and one year as Head
of Woodwind, I have loved
being able to think about the
bigger picture and implement
new strategies. I really enjoy the
interaction I have with our boys
and their parents, and I’m very
lucky to work with a creative and
supportive team of colleagues.
What student expressions
of growth impress you?
I have met so many
incredible boys over my time.
I teach a large number of my
students from Year 5 right
through to Year 12, and it
really is such an amazing
journey watching them
grow into young men. In music,
particularly live performance, there are
so many factors at play in addition to technique
and reading, including self-confidence,
self-discipline, teamwork, presentation … the
list goes on. Helping to guide boys through all of
these can be very challenging, but also equally
rewarding.
What advice would you give to Year 12
students as they embark on a life outside
Scotch?
Follow your dreams and passions, be brave
and step outside your comfort zones to open
yourself to things you might not otherwise ever
know. Take your musical experiences with you,
and the skills that you learn by being involved
in music will help you throughout your whole
life, including teamwork, cooperation, dealing
with performance anxiety, perseverance and —
hopefully — a lifelong passion for the arts.
And, of course, be honest and kind to people.