Composer and Arranger
The Companion Music Folder
Ken Dahlin was an instrumental music teacher for 33 years in the Montgomery County Public School System in the State of Maryland as well as a church choir director for thirty-five years. After twenty-seven years of teaching high school instrumental music, Ken taught his final six years teaching elementary instrumental music. Composition has always been an interest and with skills in technology Ken begin writing beginning band and string music using synthesized backgrounds. His object was to motivate all students, challenging the gifted, yet keeping the interest of struggling students. Upon retirement, he has spent many hours gathering all his arrangements into The Companion Music Folder. Today, he and his wife are helping their daughter with a band program at The Academy of Saint Cecilia in Damascus, Maryland. There are over seventy students in the band program, most of which are home schooled. Thus, Ken is still composing and adding more arrangements to the folder!
During his teaching career, Ken was often recognized by his colleagues for his efforts in technology. On several occasions, he gave demonstrations at in-service county workshops as well as at the Maryland Music Educator Conference Convention and appeared on MCPS TV for a disscussion on technoloy in music. In the April, 1995, issue of the Music Educators National Conference publication Teaching Music, Ken had an article published, Double Your Effectiveness. Briefly this article, pointed out the many ways that technology can help the elementary instrumental music teacher.
He hopes that all of his efforts will continue to motivate students as well as help other teachers - thus the name Companion Music.