On this episode I talk with composer Randall Standridge about his career as a teacher turned full time composer. We also cover topics on mental health, his great relationship with his husband Steve and family, fitness, broadway, marching band...literally all the things. This conversation has so many meaningful takeaways. To find out more about Randall, visit his website liked below. I also included links to the three pieces he detailed in the episode for reference. Keep doing the thing and the stuff and thank you for listening!

Quotes:"When people ask me who my heroes are, I always say my parents. They told me I could be anything, do anything, and I believed them."

"I had an impulse to create from an early age."

"I realized that I was working away my life. We only get one life. So, I needed to choose to leave teaching to pursue my composition career completely."

"I was grateful for the work because it was a distraction. There is no way that we can mentally prepare for what we went through the past year. There is no point in sitting around wishing things were different. I didn’t just sit down and grieve myself to waste. I can work on my music and throw myself into that."

"What can this piece live without? Does this serve a purpose?"

"I decided to make sure that the piece was a commentary on what was happening and not a representation."

"The piece is meant to showcase the struggle to hold things together in the face of mental health issues. I am hoping that this piece will be a conversation that helps bring light to mental health."

"I am a firm believer that if an opportunity doesn’t exist…create it."

"A good relationship is not a great conversation that never ends."

"Everyone is the hero of their own story."

Website: https://randallstandridge.com/

Stonewall 1969:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lpWZu9irFfY

The Nine:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NaxIud-lMMw

Unbroken:Coming Soon

Follow Me on Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/larunningmusic/

Full Bio:Mr. Standridge is currently published by Grand Mesa Music, Alfred Music, FJH Music, Wingert-Jones Music, Band Works Publications, Twin Towers Music, and Northeastern Music Publications. Mr. Standridge's music is performed internationally. He has had numerous works selected to the J.W. Pepper's editor's choice. His compositions Snake Charmer, Gently Blows the Summer Wind, and Angelic Celebrations have been included in the "Teaching Music Through Performance in Band" series. He has had numerous works performed at the prestigious Midwest Clinic in Chicago, Illinois. His work Art(isms) was premiered by the Arkansas State University Wind Ensemble at the 2010 CBDNA conference in Las Cruces, New Mexico, and his work Stonewall: 1969 was premiered at the National LGBA conference in 2019. Mr. Standridge is also a contributing composer for Alfred Music's Sound Innovations: Ensemble Development series.In addition to his career as a composer, Mr. Standridge is the owner and editor for Randall Standridge Music, LLC and Grand Mesa Marching. He is in demand as a drill designer, music arranger, and colorguard designer for the marching arts, as well as a freelance artist/photographer and writer. He lives in Jonesboro, Arkansas with his family.

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