About Mr. Foster

Ted Foster is the Instrumental Music Director at Challenger Middle School, in the Mira Mesa neighborhood of San Diego, in the San Diego Unified School District (SDUSD). The 2022-2023 school year is is Mr. Foster's thirteenth year teaching at Challenger, and fourteenth year teaching overall. Mr. Foster promotes lifelong learning and lifelong musicianship as part of a well-rounded education for all students.

In Mr. Foster's time at Challenger, enrollment in the Music Program has increased from less than 100 students in his first year, to over 300, and performing ensembles have consistently received positive feedback from audiences, colleagues, and adjudicators. Challenger students are often accepted into All-City, All-County, All-Southern, and even All-State Honor Ensembles. Mr. Foster was particularly proud to see his first class of Eighth Graders march in the 2016 Rose Parade, as alumni members of the Mira Mesa High School Sapphire Sound Marching Band and Color Guard, and he was proud to see another round of alumni participate with MMHS in the 2022 Rose Parade.

Mr. Foster earned his Master's in Music Education from VanderCook College of Music, in Chicago, IL, in 2015, and he earned his Bachelor of Music from George Mason University, in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area, in 2009. Mr. Foster's primary instrument is the String Bass; he has also performed on Electric Bass, Cello, Tuba, and Euphonium, and he has also sung in a number of choral ensembles as a member or leader of the Bass sections.

In 2019, Mr. Foster was selected to receive the Orchestra Educator of the Year Award from from the California Music Education Association, Southern Border Section (CMEA-SBS), and in the same year, he was voted "Teacher of the Year" by the staff at Challenger, and he was also given the Honorary Service Award from the Challenger PTO. In 2014, Mr. Foster was honored with the opportunity to conduct the Elementary Honor Orchestra of SDUSD. He was awarded the 2013 David Paul Schuchman Award for Outstanding Middle School Instrumental Music Teacher, as voted by his secondary instrumental music educator peers in SDUSD, and in the same year, Mr. Foster also received the Band Educator of the Year Award from CMEA-SBS. In 2011, after his first year teaching at Challenger, Mr. Foster was given the Honorary Service Award from the Challenger PTSA.

Mr. Foster has previously served as Vice-President of Instrumental Events for CMEA-SBS, in which capacity he oversaw band, orchestra, and guitar events such as festivals and honor ensembles, and he has represented Southern California during advocacy events at the California State Capitol in Sacramento, as well as the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. Mr. Foster has also managed and assistant-managed honor orchestras at the local, regional, and state levels, and he has adjudicated auditions and performances from individuals and ensembles throughout Southern California. Additionally, Mr. Foster currently serves as the conductor for the Intermediate and Chamber ensembles of the Civic Youth Orchestra (CYO) of North County San Diego, where he has also previously served as conductor of the CYO Prelude and Intermezzo ensembles.

Mr. Foster was born and raised in Cape May Court House, New Jersey. He enjoys hiking, mountain biking, road biking, relaxing at the beach, reading, learning, and spending time with friends and family- he especially enjoys being an awesome uncle to his five-year-old nephew and (as of August 2022) six-month old niece on the East Coast. As well, Mr. Foster loves making music outside of school: he had a terrible singer-songwriter phase in high school and college, and he currently enjoys playing and singing 90s songs with his guitar, and he loves engendering good feelings in audiences through karaoke. Mr. Foster lives in Mira Mesa with his three bikes: Avalina (Mountain), Miriam (Road), and Pelagia (beach cruiser).

You can follow Mr. Foster's adventures on Strava and Instagram:

https://www.strava.com/athletes/36721973

https://www.instagram.com/tedfostermusic/

And you can listen to Mr. Foster discuss his adventures on the "Almost There Adventure Podcast"; his section begins around the 30-minute mark:

https://almostthereadventurepodcast.com/episode-53-2021-wrap-up-ted-foster-on-hiking-challenges/