Eric Menderski - Director of Bands - Marching Band Director

My band experience began in 6th grade after very effective recruitment efforts from my first band director, and now Parkway South Middle School director, Tricia Holm. I played baritone and euphonium through grade school in Washington, Missouri. My senior year I was section leader of the baritones and earned a gold medal on my solo at the state level. In addition to participating in band, I played football, baseball, golf, and track. 

The most important lesson I learned in college is that you have to expand your world view and try new things. Doing so will grow you as a person and greatly increase your potential. I first attended East Central Community College in Union, Missouri. For two years I worked toward my Associate’s Degree of Fine Arts. It was at ECC where Aaron Bounds, director of bands, handed me a trombone and told me to learn it so I could play in the jazz band. Learning jazz music changed the course of my music journey. I chose the University of Missouri - St. Louis as my next college because it had such a robust jazz program at the time. For the following three and a half years I went on to pursue my Bachelor’s of Music Education at UMSL. Here I played in many ensembles. The Wind Ensemble conducted by the great Gary Brandes performed very demanding and quality literature. The Orchestra conducted by Darwin Aquino, who also leads the St. Louis Philharmonic, introduced me to the orchestral world of music, something my high school experience didn’t give me. I also took private lessons with Matthew Banks, former Broadway performer and current Kirkwood band director, where my understanding of the world of music expanded widely. Lastly, the UMSL Jazz Orchestra led by Jim Widner and Ken Kehner was the most enjoyable music experience I’ve ever had. We played all sorts of challenging music with a broad variety of genres. The greatest piece of music we performed was the arrangement of Caravan recorded by the Jim Widner big band, featured in Whiplash. Mr. Widner even took the Jazz Orchestra to Europe in the summer of 2018 where we toured the Italian and French countryside and performed at 3 jazz festivals. I finished my degree student teaching at St. Charles West High School with Ben Meyer, Jeff Collier, and Curtis Vahle in December 2021.

In January 2022, I got my first paid job as a substitute teacher at Pattonville. Later that semester I covered a maternity leave at Elsberry Middle and High School for a band director and got my first band teaching experience where I was the lone teacher. This prepared me for my first full-time position in Hermann, Missouri where I taught middle and high school band by myself in July 2022 - June 2024. I ran marching, jazz, pep, and concert bands.

If there were anything in life that could challenge music for being my first love, it would be food. I’m not a picky eater, but I’m very particular about the way a dish is prepared. I love authentic ramen, teppanyaki (commonly known as hibachi), sushi, Korean and American BBQ, wings, fried chicken, fajitas, tacos, and ice cream. I’ve had great successes in the kitchen and epic failures. My greatest victory in the kitchen was when I made the perfect spicy teriyaki beef ramen. My greatest failure in the kitchen was when I was a senior in high school, I tried making macaroni and cheese. Apparently you have to boil the noodles before adding them to the pot…

- Color Guard Director