Mr. Allen is entering his 11th year of teaching in the Brunswick City Schools. This year, he will be teaching all band classes with the exception of 8th-period 7th-grade band . He'll also be leading the middle school jazz band starting in January! His first three years teaching were spent at Huntington Elementary School, teaching K-5 music. Previously, Mr. Allen has assisted with the Brunswick High School Marching Band for the past 10 years. Mr. Allen is also an active member of the Ohio Music Education Association (OMEA) and the National Association for Music Education (NAfME).
In addition to teaching band, Mr. Allen also serves as Director of Kids Media at Grace C&MA Church in Middleburg Heights. He is also a summer camp director with the Berea City Schools during the summer. Mr. Allen was honored to be selected as the 2020-21 Edwards Middle School Teacher of the Year, as well as the recipient of the Brunswick, District, and State (OH) VFW Teacher of the Year in 2018. Most recently, Mr. Allen was honored to have been nominated as one of seventeen teachers to receive the 2021 Homer B. Smith Teacher of Excellence Award.
In his spare time, Mr. Allen loves spending as much time with his wife and three kids! He also loves watching CLEVELAND sports (Browns, Cavs, and Guardians!).
Mrs. Neubauer is in her 23rd year of teaching this year. She has degrees in Music Education from Baldwin Wallace University (B.M.E), The University of Michigan (M.M. Ed.), and is pursuing a Doctorate of Musical Arts through Boston University. Most recently she has taught middle school choir and band in Brunswick, and has also taught high school and elementary band, K-5 general music, and middle school orchestra. Previous teaching assignments include Choir in North Royalton, band in Elyria City Schools, and Associate Professor of Music Education at Baldwin Wallace University. This year, Mrs. Wank will be teaching all three 6th-grade band classes with Mr. Allen, both 7th-grade bands, and one 7th-grade orchestra class. Mrs. Neubauer is a member of the National Association for Music Education (NAfME) and the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA).
Mr. Bennett has been a marching and concert percussion specialist for the Brunswick City Schools for 28 years, the middle school percussion instructor at Nordonia Middle School for 23 years, and maintains an active schedule of private students. He is also on the faculty of Kent State University - Stark Campus where he teaches all percussion lessons, percussion ensemble, and world drumming. From young beginner to experienced adult, he really enjoys getting to work with the wide variety of students he sees each week.
Outside of teaching music, Mr. Bennett also enjoys arranging and performing music. He has consulted and arranged for marching bands and indoor drum lines from six states and was one of the founders of Matrix Indoor Marching Percussion Ensemble where he instructed, designed, and arranged for the group for its first eleven years. He also tries to stay active as a freelance musician and has performed with the Sounds of Sousa, the Youngstown Symphony Orchestra, the Ashland Symphony Orchestra, and spent six years as principal percussionist of the Firelands Symphony Orchestra.
A resident of Brunswick for the past 16 years, Mr. Bennett lives with his very understanding wife and four young sons. When not working or cutting the grass, he can usually be found playing Minecraft or Fortnite with his sons.