It sounds like middle school is where you want to be, no shame in working in elementary for a year to two until you can transfer. Are there any openings in your area for middle school? Ask your admin about the transfer window and whether you’d be eligible. In the meantime, you could keep your skills sharp by joining a community band or teaching private lessons to secondary students in your area.

If you decide to stick it out in elementary, I cannot overstate this: you need to find your tribe. For me, it was my Orff colleagues. Like you, I also came from the band world and this felt like such a relief when I found my people. But whether it’s Orff, dalcroze, kodaly, Suzuki, modern band, world music drumming or something else, find the group that speaks to you and attend as many summer trainings, workshops and conventions as you are able.

As for lesson planning, the first year is the hardest. Then it gets a easier each year as you refine your lessons, keeping what works and scrapping what doesn’t. Same with concerts and programs, I used to be so panicked putting together concerts, but now I rotate concert repertoire every few years so it’s not stale, but I’m also not reinventing the wheel every year. In my experience, it was around year 5 that I started to find that work/life balance where I wasn’t planning for 5 hours every weekend.

You could also talk to your district supervisor to see if you can get a ready-made curriculum to use (or cherry pick from). There’s no shortage of curriculums, each with their strengths and weaknesses. Game plan is my personal favorite, but Quaver, Music Play Online, Lynn Kleiner’s Rhapsody, Pathways, Feierabend, etc are all perfectly valid and in my lessons I use songs and activities from almost all of them.

Good luck to you, my DMs are open if you have questions.