After moving a timpani drum out of the way, sliding past some flutists and dodging students passing around sharp-edged music stands, Jim Rice comes into view at the far end of the room.

The Inglemoor High instructor is leaning over a piano and intensely staring at a trombone in two pieces. After a tweak here and there, he puts the slide back in its place and hands it to a student, who gives an appreciative nod.

Rice, director of Inglemoor’s orchestra and jazz ensembles, will be one of two music educators presented with the Northwest Division Distinguished Music Educators Service Award at the first general session of the Northwest Music Educators Conference (MENC) Friday in Bellevue.

But, as shown above, Rice’s job is much more than directing student musicians. His dad was a carpenter and handyman whom Rice thought could fix anything from plumbing to electrical appliances and beyond.

“He was good to teach me that it was probably a wise thing for me to try a bunch of things and make sure that I was prepared. So along the way, I’ve kind of learned how to do that,” said Rice, 54, noting that as trombone fixer last Friday, he peeled off duct tape and used springs to repair the instrument.

Rice has also played a wealth of instruments over the years: he began on piano as a child, moved on to trumpet in school and has added most of the brass family, clarinet, bassoon, violin, viola, flute and cello to his arsenal.

“It just kind of comes with the territory, to learn as much as you can. And you can relay that back to the kids,” said Rice, who called himself a “studier of instruments.” Aside from teaching his Inglemoor students, Rice often performs with his daughters, one who is a music teacher and the other a music major in college.

A music major himself, Rice earned master’s and bachelor’s degrees from the University of Washington and Central Washington University. He has taught in the Northshore School District for 18 years, and his ensembles have consistently earned superior or first-place ratings.

For Friday’s award presentation, Northwest Division presidents and past recipients are recognizing Rice for his service at the local, state and national level. The Northwest Division is composed of music educators from Washington, Oregon, Alaska, Idaho, Montana and Wyoming.

“It’s really quite an honor,” said Rice, noting that he’s witnessed some of his mentors receive similar awards. “And now to kind of be on the other side of the coin and be recognized in the same way is pretty overwhelming. And really quite humbling.”

Inglemoor junior trumpet player Molly Carroll appreciates how Rice is a master of techniques and explains what needs to be done in a precise manner.

“I do really enjoy working with him. He always seems to know what the problem is and what we’re doing wrong. And he always has a lot of suggestions for how to help and how to fix things, which is really nice,” said Carroll, noting that everyone’s playing has improved with Rice in the room.

Rice spends most of his time at Inglemoor — where he also assists with the band program — and teaches strings to Northshore elementary students for one hour each day.

“It’s an exciting day, and as you can imagine going from fourth grade to seniors in high school in a matter of minutes it becomes a very challenging day,” Rice said. “You make sure that you’re serving both young kids and older kids with the right music instruction that challenges them at the level they are at, and still encourage them to grow as musicians.”

He says it’s rewarding to meet the youngsters early in their music careers, watch them grasp musical knowledge and then reunite with them in high school and see how they’ve progressed with their instrument of choice.

Rice will certainly be thinking about those kids he helped mold into musicians while receiving his award Friday.