Joe Mish

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About the teacher:

Mr. Mish has been teaching in Pine Island since graduating from the University of Wisconsin at Oshkosh in 1986. He earned a Master of Arts in Music Education from the University of St. Thomas in 2006. In 2011, he was recognized as the Pine Island Teacher of the Year. And in 2020 he was presented with the SEMYO Bravura Award for inspiring excellence through music education. He he resides in Pine Island with his wife Kathy Shepel.

At school, he leads the all the orchestras: Panther 5, Philharmonia (grades 6-7), Sinfonia (grades 8-9) and Symphony (grades 10-12) orchestras. He directs two jazz orchestra ensembles: Jazz Strings Junior (grades 6-9) and Jazz Strings (grades 10-12) which meet before school.

Besides teaching orchestra in Pine Island, he plays double bass in the Rochester Symphony Orchestra. He also serves as Co-Director of Music at the First Unitarian Universalist Church in Rochester, MN. He is active as a composer and arranger of music.

Mission:
Music is for everyone. All music students will aspire to achieve a high level of music artistry and literacy in the areas of performing, creating, responding and understanding; thus preparing each student to be a lifelong contributor to a more artistic society. 

School: Pine Island Middle and High Schools

Classes: Grades 5-12 Orchestra

Licensure: Band (K-12), Orchestra (K-12) and Classroom Music (5-12)