A4P in the Classroom

Meet the Teacher

Tavia Zerman, Director of Bands, Grand Ledge Hayes Middle School

Mrs. Zerman was born in Big Rapids, Michigan, where she graduated from Big Rapids High School. She received a Bachelor of Music degree in Music Performance from Michigan State University in 1995, with a major in tuba. She continued to study the tuba at The University of Akron, where she earned her Master of Music degree in Brass Performance in 1997. During this time she won both regional and international solo performance competitions and honors. She then returned to MSU to complete her teaching certification and graduated with a second Bachelor of Music, this time in Music Education, in December of 1999. Mrs. Zerman started teaching at her current position at Hayes Middle School in the 2000-2001 school year.

Since then, she has co-authored papers for publication in music education research journals and has been asked to speak to music education majors at Michigan State University and The University of Michigan. She has been on the faculty at Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp since the summer of 2006, serving as a conductor for the Camp Bernstein Band and the High School Blue and Red Bands.

She has also been active in the Michigan School Band and Orchestra Association in District 8 as chair for Junior High Honors Band and Vice President for Junior High Solo and Ensemble Festival, as well as serving as an adjudicator for solo and ensemble and band festivals in other districts. At the state level of MSBOA, she has served one year as chair for the Elementary/Middle School Instrumental Workshop and three years on the Planning Committee for the Michigan Music Conference. In the summer of 2007, Mrs. Zerman was accepted for membership in the American School Band Directors Association. The Grand Ledge Hayes Middle School Eighth Grade Band was a featured performance at the January 2009 Michigan Music Conference. Mrs. Zerman was also honored as the MSBOA District 8 Band Teacher of the Year in 2011, and again in 2017, this time advancing as one of three finalists for the MSBOA State Band Teacher of the Year. Through this process, she was elected the 2018 MSBOA State Band Teacher of the Year.

Mrs. Zerman has been happily married since 1998. She loves spending time with her husband and two children (born in 2003 and 2005). Her interests include knitting, reading, photography, Facebooking, cooking, and of course, listening to and making music! She currently plays several instruments with the Grand Ledge Community Band.