Dear School District Administrators and Human Resources,

I am writing this letter to recommend Jeffrey Malone for a music teaching position. Jeffrey Malone’s
legacy as a music educator and saxophonist is only beginning, yet he has shown himself to be an
incredible musician, a notable student leader, and a passionate marching band member. Jeffrey is a
saxophone player, drum major of the Pride of Arizona Marching Band, a music education major, and a
straight-A student. Beyond those accomplishments, what is even more impressive is anytime the music
education faculty get together to discuss outstanding students, Jeffrey’s name comes up over and over. He
truly stands out!

How does Jeffrey stand out? In our Secondary Music Methods course, Jeffrey mixed humor, humility,
and high-level musicianship in such a way that all students seem to pay more attention to his lessons than
any other peers’ lessons. In this class and the Band Techiques class with me last year, Jeffrey did not
merely “do” reflection assignments, he created in-depth, thorough reflections, typically three to four
pages for every lesson, to really disect what went well in a lesson or assignment and the specific steps to
improve in the future. As part of our outreach and practicum component of Band Techniques, Jeffrey was
the first student selected to lead a 72-piece beginning band at Gridley Middle School, and received the
highest praise and feedback from these eager 11-year olds, who were more motivated by his teaching
methods than any of our other msuic education students. For our final project in Band Techniques, each
student had to submit a Music Teacher’s Toolbox with at least one salient point from each class and
reading selection that inspired them to be a better teacher; most students submitted a document around
four pages in length; Jeffrey’s was over 20 pages full of high-quality tips for rehearsing musicians and
being a better teacher. These couple of examples are indicative of his drive to succeed as a music educator
and his consistency in going above and beyond expectations!

He consistently goes above and beyond in my classes, but that is apparently not unique for Jeffrey. I have
heard the same praise about him from Dr. Ashcraft for choral methods, from Dr. Munsen for elementary
methods, and from Prof. Shoopman for the Pride of Arizona. Everyone who gets to work with Jeffrey all
seem to unanaimously feel he possesses the characteristics to succeed and make a difference in the world
of music and music education. He is a humble, genuine, easy-going, talented, and hard-working
individual. Despite being stretched time-wise with all his ensembles and courseload while attending as a
student, he is incredibly generous with his time and dedication to each endeavor. I am continually
impressed with his ability to excel at teaching and performing while balancing a 4.0 GPA, leading the
marching band, traceling with the pep band, being a loyal member and leader with the honorary band
sorority Tau Beta Sigma, and now as a student teacher with one of the more successful programs in
Tucson! I am willing to offer more anecdotes and materials in support of Jeffrey Malone if they would be
helpful, so please do not hesitate to contact me via phone or email.

Sincerely,

Dr. Karin Nolan

Assistant Professor, Music Education
Fred Fox School of Music, The University of Arizona
PO Box 210004, Tucson, AZ 85721-0004
(520) 621-7470
knolan@email.arizona.edu