The skills and mindset needed to lead a high school band have harmoniously translated to the superintendency for longtime South Carolina educator Craig Witherspoon.

The chief of Richland County School District One, who was a saxophone player long before he arrived at central office, compares leading a district to assembling and conducting a band. This includes putting the right musicians in the right chairs—from tuba to woodwinds to the all-important drum line—and then choosing the music that best suits the ensemble in its performances and festival appearances.

“In district administration, you don’t get to pick and choose some of those things. Some of those challenges are there for you and thrust upon you,” Witherspoon explains. “I look at that analogy, ‘Are we all on the same sheet of music?’ You certainly have a conductor, but the ensemble—or the team—makes the music.