Kevin Scollin received his Master of Music Education degree with a cognate in Wind Conducting from Eastern Michigan University, where he studied conducting with Dr. Mary Schneider. He served as Graduate Teaching Assistant for the EMU Marching Band, the EMU Wind Symphony, and the EMU Symphonic Band, as well as several music education courses. In addition to his conducting and teaching responsibilities, he oversaw the EMU instrument inventory and performed in the trumpet section of the Wind Symphony.
Mr. Scollin received his Bachelor of Music Education and Bachelor of Music Performance degrees from Michigan State University in 2010, where he was awarded the Ellis Family Endowment in Music Education. During his time at MSU, he performed in the Wind Symphony and Symphony Orchestra, including featured appearances at the 2007 Midwest Clinic in Chicago, Illinois and the 2009 College Band Directors National Association Conference in Austin, Texas.
Mr. Scollin joined Farmington Public Schools in August 2017, where he currently teaches grades 6-8 band at Power Middle School and serves as the Middle School Music Instructional Leader. Under his direction, the program at Power has grown steadily and offered numerous performance and travel opportunities for students. The Power Bands have performed for guest clinicians from Oakland University and Baldwin Wallace Conservatory, and musicians from the group have bolstered the numbers of the Farmington High School Falcon Marching Band, where dozens of eighth grade students have taken the field to show their Falcon Pride.
When he first joined the district, Mr. Scollin established the band program at the Farmington STEAM Academy, teaching grades 5-8 band with an emphasis on project-based learning. He brought in guest composers and performers, along with an acoustic engineer from General Motors, to illustrate the connectivity between science and the arts. He also taught beginning band at Warner Middle School, collaborating with the other directors to ensure a smooth entry into the program for students with no prior experience on their instruments.
Before coming to Farmington, Mr. Scollin taught band, orchestra, choir, and drama club at Stevenson Middle School in Westland, Michigan. As a teacher for Wayne-Westland Community Schools, Mr. Scollin also co-directed the bands at Franklin Middle School and co-taught the Concert Band at Wayne Memorial High School. He collaborated frequently with the John Glenn High School concert band and the Rocket Marching Band to build foundational skills and prepare students for a lifetime of music making.
In addition to his career as a music teacher, Mr. Scollin is also active as a freelance musician, a published arranger, and a guest clinician. He has performed with the Southeastern Michigan Wind Ensemble, the Five Lakes Silver Band, the Oakland University Brass Band, the Motor City Brass Band, the Capital City Brass Band, and at numerous churches and community theater organizations in the Metro Detroit area.
Kevin Scollin believes the purpose of music education in public schools is to foster creative expression through performance, composition, and critical listening of music in a variety of contexts. Additionally, through collaboration in the music-making process, students have the opportunity to see and hear from different perspectives, engage in imaginative, out-of-the-box thinking, and broaden their perceptions of the world around them. Music education programs should strive to connect students’ musical studies with their everyday lives in a meaningful way, cultivating comprehensive musicianship, and creating an enduring community of lifelong music learners.
Kevin Scollin | scollin.kevin@gmail.com