Name 
Greg Dundore
School & School System Where You Work
Hunters Creek Middle School & White Oak High School, Onslow County Schools
Number of Years Teaching
9
Teaching Area(s)
Orchestra
Grade Level
Middle school & High School
What do you love most about teaching music?
I love seeing the growth in my students, both as musicians and as people, from 6th grade beginners all the way through to high school graduation! I loved being a part of music in school and I want them to have that experience as well. I just love being a part of the day-to-day music-making experience.
Who inspired you to be a music educator and how did they inspire you?
My music teachers when I was in school, including my dad who is a retired 35-year music educator in Pennsylvania. I was fortunate enough to have had a very high quality music education all throughout elementary, middle, and high school in the Mechanicsburg Area School District, as well as in college at West Chester University. My now wife Carrie also inspired me to start teaching in Onslow County in 2015 after she had already been teaching elementary music for about a year at OCS (and was the reason we moved to NC).
What did you need the most when you started teaching?
Support from administration and colleagues, which I was fortunate enough to have in spades at HCMS and WOHS. We also have a tight-knit orchestra teacher community in Onslow County, and to have other string teachers to help and offer advice was crucial for me since I was not primarily a strings person and had just about no orchestra experience whatsoever when I started.
Describe the biggest challenge to teaching music education and how you have worked to overcome this challenge?
Outside of not originally being a strings person and having to learn a lot over the years, I would say I haven’t had a lot of challenges, thankfully! Onslow County is a great place to teach and I’ve been really blessed in my job. The closest thing to a “challenge” might be the fact that because of the military population in our county, students move away a lot. It can be difficult to have to say goodbye to a lot of great students after only a few years or fewer, especially if you know they’re moving somewhere that doesn’t have orchestra!
How do you advocate for your program?
I advocate for my program mostly by trying to get them as much exposure as I can. I want people in the community to be aware of our orchestra program just as they are aware of our great choir and band programs. I also work hard to recruit as many students as possible so we can be a large presence in the school. Onslow County makes it easy for us to advocate for our programs because of how many opportunities we are afforded by people like Dr. Lisa Peele, OCS Director of Cultural Arts and Global Leadership. She is our biggest advocate!
What is one piece of advice you would give to beginning teachers?
My advice would be to stick with it and keep an open mind. It is going to be really challenging at first, but the longer you give yourself to establish your vision, it will become a lot more comfortable and enjoyable. Keep an open mind as far as what you teach, because I never once gave a thought to being an orchestra teacher before I did it, and here I am absolutely loving what I teach!
How do you build relationships with students and parents?
You can build relationships by being welcoming, accepting, and passionate about each student’s music education! Be thankful to the parents for everything they do to contribute to the success of each student as well!