The website and blog of musician and writer Walter Bitner.

Off The Podium features Walter’s writing on music and education. For Walter’s writing beyond these topics, visit Jisetsu.com.

A multi-instrumentalist and singer, Walter is also a teacher, composer/arranger, and conductor conversant with a wide variety of musical styles and traditions. He has performed or collaborated with a diverse array of musicians in a teaching and performing career that spans four decades. Walter’s teaching career included elementary school, middle school, and high school vocal and instrumental music formats for a wide variety of schools over more than twenty years, and he subsequently spent ten years  as a symphony administrator producing education and community engagement programs.

Walter’s column Off The Podium was featured in Choral Director magazine 2016-2021, and his writing has been published widely by music and education associations and publications including the National Association for Music Education, American Choral Directors Association, Teaching With Orff, School Band & Orchestra magazine, and the Lute Society of America. He has also been a featured speaker about music education and diversity, equity, and inclusion at regional and national conferences.