Everything Band Podcast

Dr. Ronald Wooten is a professor of music at Northern Illinois University and has a long history of success as a band director and music educator. He joined the show to spin an entertaining story of his life and share some tremendous wisdom.

Biography:

Ronnie Wooten DMA, Professor of Music, believes that “It is absolutely critical for those of us who are engaged in the art and practice of musicing-- particularly in colleges and universities, to actively assist all others in their quest to find and recognize their own personal uniqueness as people.”

He is widely recognized and frequently invited to share with others in both traditional/ nontraditional, musical/non-musical venues his own energetic, passionate and continuously evolving uniqueness in the intentional human activity that is universally recognized as MUSIC.

Ronnie Wooten remains actively engaged in the areas of conducting—its pedagogy, history and evolution with particular focus on applications of nonverbal communication systems in conducting pedagogy; historical and theoretical analysis of wind band repertoire---including the unique contributions of Black Composers, intersectionalities and functions of music in human societies, and pedagogical approaches and methodologies in diverse populations in musicing and education.

Dr. Wooten is “a strong advocate for assisting students, colleagues and others to find their uniqueness through musicing”. He received degrees in music education and conducting from East Carolina University (with honors) and Michigan State University where he studied conducting with conductors Eugene Migliaro Corporon, Kenneth G. Bloomquist and Herbert L. Carter. He studied applied clarinet with Deborah Chodacki and Frank Ell, piano with Donna Coleman, and completed additional studies in conducting and wind band literature at the University of Calgary, Campbell University, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and the University of Michigan.

Prior to his appointment at NIU as Conductor of the Wind Symphony and Area Coordinator of Music Education in Fall 1994, Dr. Wooten previously held posts as Director of University Bands at SUNY Fredonia and Florida International University. His initial teaching and conducting career began in the public schools of North Carolina, where he served as Assistant Director of Bands of the three-time Bands of America Grand National Champion Rocky Mount High School Band, and as Director of Bands and Instrumental Music for grades 8-12 in the Goldsboro City School District.

Dr. Wooten maintains an active national and international musicing schedule as guest conductor, adjudicator, lecturer and consultant for instrumental music and education, and was invited to serve as Guest Conductor of the United States Army Field Band at Ft. Meade, Resident Orchestra Conductor for the international conference: “A Multicultural Celebration of Diversity in Music”, where he conducted a performance of Black composer Florence Prices’s Symphony No. 3 , which at that time had not been heard in over 60 years; a live recreation of the 1930s landmark “Deep River Radio Hour, which featured live actors for the commercials, soloists and lesser-known full orchestral works by African-American composer William Grant Still and others, all of which were aired over National Public Radio.

He served as Guest Conductor of the Kentucky Intercollegiate Band, the Provincial Honor Band of Alberta, Canada, the International Music Camp Band, and as guest conductor of All-State and All-District Honor Bands in 32 US states thus far. Wooten has served as Chief Adjudicator for Bands and Solo Wind Instrument Performance for the Kiwanis International Music Festivals in Toronto and Ottawa, Canada and has presented original research for the Mid-West International Band and Orchestra Clinic, College Band Directors National Association, Illinois, Kentucky, North Carolina and Texas Music Educators Associations, Illinois Committee on Black Concerns in Higher Education, People of Color in Predominantly White Institutions Conference and The National Association of Black Cultural Centers. He delivered the keynote address for the Rhode Island Music Educators Association Conference and served as Artist-in -Residence at the University of Louisville for their annual Festival of African American Music.

Additionally, Dr. Wooten has conducted the NIU Wind Ensemble at the National Association for the Study and Performance of African American Music Conference and the Illinois Music Educators Association In-Service Conference. In 2013 he was invited by PanTrinbago to serve on an international panel of adjudicators for the National Steelband Finals Championship in Trinidad and Tobago where he also presented a workshop at the National Performing Arts Center entitled: “The Maestro at Work”.

Dr. Wooten holds professional memberships in the College Band Directors National Association, where he served as a member of the Task Force on Ethnicity and Gender Issues, The National Association for Music Education, Illinois Music Educators Association, Mid-America Bandmasters Association, Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia, Pi Kappa Lambda, and Kappa Kappa Psi.

Dr. Wooten received theAward for Excellence in Undergraduate Teachingat Northern Illinois University where has taught the following courses:

(Undergraduate): Introduction to Music Education, Secondary Instrumental Methods, Techniques of Woodwind Instruments, Black Music, Student Teaching, Conducting;

(Graduate): Foundations of American Music Education, Supervision and Administration of the Music Program, Diverse Populations in Music Education, Wind Instrument Literature, Conducting, in addition to conducting the NIU Wind Symphony, Wind Ensemble and All-University Bands.

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Are you planning to travel with your group sometime soon? If so, please consider my sponsor, Kaleidoscope Adventures, a full service tour company specializing in student group travel. With a former educator as its CEO, Kaleidoscope Adventures is dedicated to changing student lives through travel and they offer high quality service and an attention to detail that comes from more than 25 years of student travel experience. Trust Kaleidoscope’s outstanding staff to focus on your group’s one-of-a-kind adventure, so that you can focus on everything else!

The Everything Band Podcast Team:

• Host and Creator: Mark Connor
• Outreach Manager: Colin Peters
• Creative Director: Jake Walker

In this special episode we welcome Colin Peters and Jake Walker to the podcast and interview them to learn their stories and hear their plans for the future of the podcast. Topics covered include origin stories, teaching during COVID, teaching beginners, and their answers to the big questions.

Colin Peters Bio:

Mr. Colin Peters has completed his fourth year of teaching public school band and is now pursuing a Masters degree in Wind Conducting at Sam Houston State University. Prior to Sam Houston, Colin served four years as the Assistant Band Director at York Junior High in Conroe ISD.While at York, he conducted the Symphonic band, Concert II/III bands, assisted with the Wind Ensemble and other concert bands, as well as assisted with the marching band at Grand Oaks under the direction of Mr. Peters, the Symphonic Band and Concert II/III Bands received superior ratings at the UIL Concert & Sight-Reading Contest, along with First Division and "Best in Class" awards at local area festivals.

Colin Peters grew up in Dickinson, TX, just south of Houston. He graduated from the University of Houston with a bachelors degree in Music Education. While at UH, he studied clarinet under Chester Rowell and Randy Griffin. His performance experiences include playing clarinet and bass clarinet in the UH Wind Ensemble, Symphony Orchestra, Chamber Orchestra, and Opera Orchestra. While at UH he also had the opportunity to perform with the Wind Ensemble at the Texas Music Educators Association, The Midwest Clinic and Convention, and the World Association for Symphonic Bands and Ensembles Convention. Colin was also a five-year member of the “Spirit of Houston” marching band where he served as Drum Major for three of those years.

With his time outside of teaching, Mr. Peters has played in the Woodlands Concert Band, worked with marching bands and leadership teams, and judged solo and ensemble contests around the Houston area. He also spends his summers attending Texas area workshops, including the Sam Houston State University’s Teaching the Middle School Band.

Colin's professional affiliations include the Texas Music Educators Association, Texas Bandmasters Association, Tau Beta Sigma and Phi Mu Alpha.

Jake Walker Bio:

Mr. Jake Walker is in his second year as the 5th Grade Band Director at Hannah Martin Elementary School, in Huntley, Illinois. After earning his teaching degree, Jake launched the new Martin Band program. In his first year, he recruited over 100 beginning band students into the program. In 2018, he was named the Assistant Marching Band Director at Huntley High School, where he worked for two marching band seasons alongside his full time position.

Jake is also a Summer School Band Director for the Wauwatosa School District in Wisconsin for 5th-10th grade students, a position he accepted in 2020. In January of 2021, he joined the Everything Band Podcast team as their Creative Director, where he creates graphics and manages social media content.

Jake graduated and received his Bachelor of Music Education degree in 2019 from Northern Illinois University in DeKalb, Illinois. While attending NIU, Jake studied with trumpet professor Dr. Mark Ponzo, ensemble and conducting professors Dr. Thomas Bough and Dr. Ronnie Wooten, and music education faculty Dr. Mary-Lynn Doherty and Dr. Christine D’ Alexander. In 2018, he was named the Head Drum Major for the NIU Huskie Marching Band and the President of the National Association for Music Education (NAfME) collegiate chapter. Jake was recognized for his efforts in the Huskie Marching Band when he received the Outstanding Band Member of the Year for two consecutive seasons (2016, 2017) and the “Director’s Award” for excellence (2018).

In the Fall of 2020, Jake contributed to the Illinois Music Education Association (ILMEA) Band Best Practice Committee to curate a collection of health and safety recommendations during the Covid-19 pandemic for Illinois band programs.

Jake was selected to represent Illinois in the upcoming 2022 Rose Parade in Pasadena, California as a member of the "Salute to America's Band Directors Marching Band". The band will be composed of up to 300 band directors from across North America and will pay tribute to the exceptional instruction, character development and inspiration provided by music educators everywhere.

Links:

• Arnold: Four Scottish Dances
• Grainger: Irish Tune from County Derry

The Everything Band Podcast team includes the following contributors:

• Host and Creator: Mark Connor
• Outreach Manager: Colin Peters
• Creative Director: Jake Walker

Tonya Mitchell-Spradlin is the director of bands at Penn State University. She joined the show to share the story of her career, challenges that she has faced, and some thoughts about concert band programming.

Topics:

• Tonya's background and education.
• Representation matters!
• Programming music.
• Thoughts about teaching and conducting.

Links:

• Tonya Mitchell-Spradlin
• Association of Black Women Band Directors
• Lauridsen: O Magnum Mysterium

Biography:

Tonya Mitchell-Spradlin is Director of Wind Band Studies and Assistant Professor of Music. In addition to conducting the Symphonic Wind Ensemble, overseeing the graduate wind conducting program, teaching courses in wind band literature and wind conducting, she oversees all aspects of the concert band programs at Penn State. Her appointment at PSU follows three years as Assistant Director of Bands and Associate Director of Athletic Bands at the University of South Carolina. Prior to her tenure at UofSC, Mitchell-Spradlin taught at Valdosta State University as Director of Athletic Bands and was Director of Bands at Chamblee High School in Chamblee, Georgia.

Mitchell-Spradlin has a diverse background as a clinician, adjudicator, educator, and speaker. She is a frequent guest conductor, and has presented regionally at the South Carolina Music Educators Association Conference, nationally at the Midwest International Band and Orchestra Clinic, internationally at the International Society for the Promotion of Wind Band in Austria, and has served as Tau Beta Sigma’s local and national Women in Music Speaker.

As a proponent of new music, she is engaged in building the wind band medium. She led the consortium and premiere of Aaron Perrine’sBeneath a Canvas of Greenfor wind ensemble and percussion quartet which was also the source of her doctoral dissertation. Additionally, she is active in a number of premieres and consortiums for new music.

Mitchell-Spradlin serves as the National Vice President of Professional Relations for Tau Beta Sigma: National Honorary Band Sorority. She also holds memberships in Kappa Kappa Psi, the College Band Directors National Association, National Association for Music Education, and Women Band Directors International.

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Are you planning to travel with your group sometime soon? If so, please consider my sponsor, Kaleidoscope Adventures, a full service tour company specializing in student group travel. With a former educator as its CEO, Kaleidoscope Adventures is dedicated to changing student lives through travel and they offer high quality service and an attention to detail that comes from more than 25 years of student travel experience. Trust Kaleidoscope’s outstanding staff to focus on your group’s one-of-a-kind adventure, so that you can focus on everything else!

The Everything Band Podcast Team:

• Host and Creator: Mark Connor
• Outreach Manager: Colin Peters
• Creative Director: Jake Walker

Tonya Mitchell-Spradlin is the director of bands at Penn State University. She joined the show to share the story of her career, challenges that she has faced, and some thoughts about concert band programming.

Topics:

• Tonya's background and education.
• Representation matters!
• Programming music.
• Thoughts about teaching and conducting.

Links:

• Tonya Mitchell-Spradlin
• Association of Black Women Band Directors
• Lauridsen: O Magnum Mysterium

Biography:

Tonya Mitchell-Spradlin is Director of Wind Band Studies and Assistant Professor of Music. In addition to conducting the Symphonic Wind Ensemble, overseeing the graduate wind conducting program, teaching courses in wind band literature and wind conducting, she oversees all aspects of the concert band programs at Penn State. Her appointment at PSU follows three years as Assistant Director of Bands and Associate Director of Athletic Bands at the University of South Carolina. Prior to her tenure at UofSC, Mitchell-Spradlin taught at Valdosta State University as Director of Athletic Bands and was Director of Bands at Chamblee High School in Chamblee, Georgia.

Mitchell-Spradlin has a diverse background as a clinician, adjudicator, educator, and speaker. She is a frequent guest conductor, and has presented regionally at the South Carolina Music Educators Association Conference, nationally at the Midwest International Band and Orchestra Clinic, internationally at the International Society for the Promotion of Wind Band in Austria, and has served as Tau Beta Sigma’s local and national Women in Music Speaker.

As a proponent of new music, she is engaged in building the wind band medium. She led the consortium and premiere of Aaron Perrine’sBeneath a Canvas of Greenfor wind ensemble and percussion quartet which was also the source of her doctoral dissertation. Additionally, she is active in a number of premieres and consortiums for new music.

Mitchell-Spradlin serves as the National Vice President of Professional Relations for Tau Beta Sigma: National Honorary Band Sorority. She also holds memberships in Kappa Kappa Psi, the College Band Directors National Association, National Association for Music Education, and Women Band Directors International.

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Are you planning to travel with your group sometime soon? If so, please consider my sponsor, Kaleidoscope Adventures, a full service tour company specializing in student group travel. With a former educator as its CEO, Kaleidoscope Adventures is dedicated to changing student lives through travel and they offer high quality service and an attention to detail that comes from more than 25 years of student travel experience. Trust Kaleidoscope’s outstanding staff to focus on your group’s one-of-a-kind adventure, so that you can focus on everything else!

The Everything Band Podcast Team:

• Host and Creator: Mark Connor
• Outreach Manager: Colin Peters
• Creative Director: Jake Walker

Jared Cassedy is the current band director at Lexington High School in Massachusetts, after teaching in New Hampshire for many years. He was the 2015 recipient of the Grammy Music Educator of the Year award and offers some great perspective for all band directors.

Topics:

• Jared's background growing up in New Hampshire, his education and training and his early career.
• Winning the Grammy Music Educator of the Year Award and being locked in a room with Kanye and Kim.
• Advice for band directors of all ages about the value of music education and some wisdom that he's learned during his career.

Links:

• Jared Cassedy
• Giroux: The Grace in Being

Biography:

Jared Cassedy is currently the K-12 Performing Arts Coordinator for the Lexington Public School System in Lexington, Massachusetts where he supports, supervises, and evaluates the department’s teachers, curriculum and assessment development, budget, and performing arts programming. Along with his administrative responsibilities he conducts the most advanced concert band at the high school, the LHS Wind Ensemble. Jared is also the conductor of the Junior Massachusetts Youth Wind Ensemble at the New England Conservatory Preparatory School and currently serves as Chair-Elect for the Massachusetts Music Educators Association: Northeastern District. Previous to coming to Massachusetts, he served as President-Elect for the New Hampshire Music Educators Association (NHMEA). In 2015 Jared was the recipient of the prestigious GRAMMY Music Educator Award furnished by the GRAMMY Foundation and The Recording Academy having been selected out of a pool of almost 10,000 nominees nationwide.

Previous to his appointment in Lexington, Jared was the Director of K-12 Performing Arts for the Salem School District in Salem, NH and was the Director of K-12 Fine Arts for the Windham School District, in Windham, NH. Jared began his teaching career in Windham, NH in 2005 first as the middle school band director and then was appointed as the first Director of Bands for the newly constructed Windham High School in 2009. Jared’s continued collaboration with his students has enabled his ensembles to be selected to participate in a myriad of national performances and festivals including the National Band and Orchestra Festival at Carnegie Hall in NYC, the Festival of Gold at Orchestra Hall in Chicago, the NAfME Eastern Division Conference in Hartford, CT., and the Bands of America National Band Festival sponsored by Music for All and Yamaha in Indianapolis. His ensembles were also selected to perform for the Mayor of Quebec City and the Governor of Montreal. In 2011 the New Hampshire Band Directors Association honored Jared with the “Outstanding Young Band Director of the Year Award.” He was also nominated for New Hampshire Teacher of the Year in 2014.

Jared has conducted a number of regional honor bands in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Maine, and Connecticut, given a variety of lectures on leadership and best practices in teaching, and has participated in TEDx talking about his journey and philosophies through education. He graduated Summa cum Laude from the University of New Hampshire – Durham where he received his Bachelor of Music degree in Music Education and has a Masters of Education degree in Curriculum and Instruction with a focus in Educational Leadership from Southern New Hampshire University. He is a member of NAfME, MMEA, NBA, and ASCD, and the prestigious Pi Lambda Theta Education Honors Society.

Steve Danyew is a composer living in Rochester, New York. He has written several very successful for band, including Magnolia Star and Into the Silent Land.

Topics:

• Steve's background growing up and his musical education.
• Steve plays saxophone and I sing a few notes!
• Steve's music, includingMagnolia Star and the story behindInto the Silent Land.
• Thoughts about composing and publishing.

Links:

• Steve Danyew - Composer
• Grainger - Irish Tune
• Pärt - Spiegel im Spiegel
• Danyew - Alcott Songs

Biography:

Steve Danyew’s music has been hailed as “startlingly beautiful” and “undeniably well crafted and communicative” by the Miami Herald, and has been praised as possessing “sensitivity, skill and tremendous sophistication” by the Kansas City Independent.

Danyew (b. 1983) is the recipient of numerous national and international awards for his work, and his compositions have been performed throughout the world in venues such as the Sydney Opera House, the Kennedy Center, Carnegie Hall, and the steps of the US Capitol. Danyew’s recent work Into the Silent Land was named the winner of the 2019 Walter Beeler Memorial Composition Prize. Three of his compositions for wind band are featured in Volume 11 of Teaching Music Through Performance in Band (GIA).

In addition to composing, Danyew is a passionate educator who teaches courses focused on helping young musicians craft their own creative careers at the Eastman School of Music’s Institute for Music Leadership.He is the contributing author for the 2nd edition of Ramon Ricker’s book Lessons from a Street-Wise Professor: What You Won’t Learn at Most Music Schools (Soundown, 2018). He is also a frequent guest composer and lecturer at schools through the United States.

In 2020, Danyew and his wife Ashley created Musician & Co., a new resource that equips 21st-century musicians to be both artists and business owners. The mission of Musician & Co. is to provide an innovative model for bridging the gap between the practice room and a profitable business.

Danyew grew up in New England, playing the saxophone and improvising music on the piano. After a performance of his own work, the South Florida Sun Sentinel proclaimed him a “saxophone virtuoso par excellence, making the instrument sing as well as shout.” Danyew performed as a saxophonist in the University of Miami Wind Ensemble under the direction of Gary Green, and this formative experience led him to begin composing works for wind band.

Danyew received a B.M., Pi Kappa Lambda from the Frost School of Music at the University of Miami and holds an M.M. in Composition and Certificate in Arts Leadership from the Eastman School of Music. Additionally, Danyew has served as a Composer Fellow at the Yale Summer Music School with Martin Bresnick, and as a Composer Fellow at the Composers Conference in Wellesley, MA with Mario Davidovsky.

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Are you planning to travel with your group sometime soon? If so, please consider my sponsor, Kaleidoscope Adventures, a full service tour company specializing in student group travel. With a former educator as its CEO, Kaleidoscope Adventures is dedicated to changing student lives through travel and they offer high quality service and an attention to detail that comes from more than 25 years of student travel experience. Trust Kaleidoscope’s outstanding staff to focus on your group’s one-of-a-kind adventure, so that you can focus on everything else!

The Everything Band Podcast team includes the following contributors:

• Host and Creator: Mark Connor
• Outreach Manager: Colin Peters
• Creative Director: Jake Walker

Frank Troyka was a longtime band director in Richardson, Texas and now serves as an adjunct instructor at SMU, educational consultant for Conn-Selmer, and director of education for System Blue.

Topics:

• Frank's background growing up in several different locations and the story of how he ended up in Texas.
• Meeting Eddie Green at Western Michigan and how that led to him moving to Texas to jumpstart his teaching career.
• Teaching in Texas and some insight into the methodology and structure of Frank's program.
• Lots nuts and bolts about teaching band and some philosophical discussions about teaching instrumental music.

Links:

• Frank Troyka at SMU
• Ticheli: Sanctuary

Biography:

A teacher of 35 years, he is the retired director of bands and coordinator of Fine Arts at Berkner High School in Richardson, Texas. Troyka came to Berkner in May 2006 following seven years as director of bands at Cypress Falls High School in Houston. Ensembles under his direction have been selected to perform at the Music for All National Festival; the Percussive Arts Society International Convention; and the Midwest Clinic on two occasions with the Symphonic Band at Cypress Falls in 2004 and with the Berkner Symphonic Band in 2011. Troyka is an active lecturer and clinician, presenting in Texas, the U.S. and at international destinations including Canada, the Philippines, Singapore, China and South Africa. He is a frequent presenter at faculty development workshops for public schools and universities, as well as a guest lecturer and “hands-on” instructor for both students and teachers at all levels. In 2016, Troyka assumed the role as collegiate track director at the annual Conn-Selmer Institute in Mishawaka, Ind.

Troyka is a member of the Texas Music Educators Association, the Texas Bandmasters Association, Phi Beta Mu International Bandmaster Fraternity, and the National Association for Music Education. He is an educational consultant with Conn-Selmer, Inc.; the director of education for System Blue, the educational arm of the Blue Devils Drum and Bugle Corps of Concord, California; and the coordinator of the Generation Next series of presentations for The Midwest Clinic International Band and Orchestra Conference. He was honored as the 2002-03 Teacher of the Year at Cypress Falls High School and, while at Berkner High School, was one of 15 Texas recipients of the 2010 UIL Sponsor Excellence Award. In 2014, Troyka was honored by the Texas Bandmasters Association as a recipient of the Meritorious Achievement Award. In 2015, he was named to the International Board of Experts for the World Music Contest of Kerkrade, The Netherlands and in March of 2016, Troyka was inducted into theBands of America Hall of Fame.

The Everything Band Podcast team includes the following contributors:

• Host and Creator: Mark Connor
• Outreach Manager: Colin Peters
• Creative Director: Jake Walker

Frank Troyka was a longtime band director in Richardson, Texas and now serves as an adjunct instructor at SMU, educational consultant for Conn-Selmer, and director of education for System Blue.

Topics:

• Frank's background growing up in several different locations and the story of how he ended up in Texas.
• Meeting Eddie Green at Western Michigan and how that led to him moving to Texas to jumpstart his teaching career.
• Teaching in Texas and some insight into the methodology and structure of Frank's program.
• Lots nuts and bolts about teaching band and some philosophical discussions about teaching instrumental music.

Links:

• Frank Troyka at SMU
• Ticheli: Sanctuary

Biography:

A teacher of 35 years, he is the retired director of bands and coordinator of Fine Arts at Berkner High School in Richardson, Texas. Troyka came to Berkner in May 2006 following seven years as director of bands at Cypress Falls High School in Houston. Ensembles under his direction have been selected to perform at the Music for All National Festival; the Percussive Arts Society International Convention; and the Midwest Clinic on two occasions with the Symphonic Band at Cypress Falls in 2004 and with the Berkner Symphonic Band in 2011. Troyka is an active lecturer and clinician, presenting in Texas, the U.S. and at international destinations including Canada, the Philippines, Singapore, China and South Africa. He is a frequent presenter at faculty development workshops for public schools and universities, as well as a guest lecturer and “hands-on” instructor for both students and teachers at all levels. In 2016, Troyka assumed the role as collegiate track director at the annual Conn-Selmer Institute in Mishawaka, Ind.

Troyka is a member of the Texas Music Educators Association, the Texas Bandmasters Association, Phi Beta Mu International Bandmaster Fraternity, and the National Association for Music Education. He is an educational consultant with Conn-Selmer, Inc.; the director of education for System Blue, the educational arm of the Blue Devils Drum and Bugle Corps of Concord, California; and the coordinator of the Generation Next series of presentations for The Midwest Clinic International Band and Orchestra Conference. He was honored as the 2002-03 Teacher of the Year at Cypress Falls High School and, while at Berkner High School, was one of 15 Texas recipients of the 2010 UIL Sponsor Excellence Award. In 2014, Troyka was honored by the Texas Bandmasters Association as a recipient of the Meritorious Achievement Award. In 2015, he was named to the International Board of Experts for the World Music Contest of Kerkrade, The Netherlands and in March of 2016, Troyka was inducted into theBands of America Hall of Fame.

The Everything Band Podcast team includes the following contributors:

• Host and Creator: Mark Connor
• Outreach Manager: Colin Peters
• Creative Director: Jake Walker

Allan McMurray enjoyed a 35 year career as the Director of Bands at the University of Colorado. Over the course of his remarkable career he has earned numerous honors and awards and is a past president of CBDNA.

Topics:

• Allan’s background in music and his early influences.
• The influence of H. Robert Reynolds on Allan’s career and some thoughts about the importance of finding great models to emulate.
• Thoughts about motivating students and showing them that you care and pursuing excellence in your career.
• “Imitation is the greatest form of flattery but the lowest form of artistry.”
• The relationship between composers and conductors and how that collaboration can bring out the best in the music.

Biography:

Allan McMurray is Distinguished Professor and Professor of Conducting Emeritus at the University of Colorado. He served for 35 years as Director of Bands and Chair of the Conducting Faculty before retiring from CU at the end of the 2013 academic year. Prior to this position, he was on the faculty of the University of Michigan, Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville and University of Wisconsin-Whitewater. Considered one of the world’s leading teachers of conducting, Professor McMurray has guest conducted and taught conductors in 48 states and 15 foreign countries. He has been a featured visiting professor and conductor at over 200 universities and conservatories internationally.

During his tenure at Colorado, the University of Colorado Wind Symphony performed by invitation at major conferences and conventions, including The First International Conference for Symphonic Bands in Manchester, England; the All-Japan Band Conference in Nemo Nu Sato, Japan; the College Band Directors National Association Convention (twice); and the World Association of Symphonic Bands and Ensembles in Hamamatsu, Japan. The ensemble also has released two CDs on the Klavier label featuring original works by composers Daniel Kellogg, Carter Pann and Frank Ticheli and collaboration with the Takacs String Quartet, Patrick Mason, Baritone and Jennifer Bird-Arvidsson, Soprano.

With a strong commitment to new music, Allan McMurray has been a strong proponent in commissioning and performing new compositions by American composers. He has won praise for his interpretive and expressive conducting by many composers including Pulitzer Prize winners Michael Colgrass, George Crumb, John Harbison, Karel Husa and Steven Stucky.

Professor McMurray has performed with the St. Louis Symphony, the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, and the Los Angeles Debut Orchestra and has guest conducted the Colorado Symphony, the Thai Philharmonic Orchestra and the Colorado Music Festival Orchestra. He also conducted the Prague Chamber musicians in a festival featuring the music of George Crumb in Prague and subsequently in the US. McMurray also completed four seasons with the Colorado Ballet Orchestra as conductor of Philip Feeney’s Dracula.

Professor McMurray’s internationally acclaimed DVD series on the Art of Conducting includes three DVDs: “Conducting from the Inside Out: Gesture and Movement” published by GIA; “Conducting from the Inside Out: Conductor and Composer with Frank Ticheli” published by Manhattan Beach Music; and “Kindred Spirits” with friends and well-known conductors Richard Floyd, Craig Kirchhoff and Robert Reynolds also published by GIA. He is currently working on a companion textbook to the DVD series.

Allan McMurray has received numerous honors and awards. He is a Past-President of the College Band Directors National Association, he is a recipient of the Bohumil Makovsky Award for Outstanding College Band Directors from the National Band Fraternity, Kappa Kappa Psi, and has been recognized by California State University Long Beach as “Distinguished Artist in Classical Music.” In December 2004, the Board of Regents of the University of Colorado designated Allan McMurray as the university’s 25th “Distinguished Professor” in recognition of his lifetime professional achievement in the teaching of conducting.

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Are you planning to travel with your group sometime soon? If so, please consider my sponsor, Kaleidoscope Adventures, a full service tour company specializing in student group travel. With a former educator as its CEO, Kaleidoscope Adventures is dedicated to changing student lives through travel and they offer high quality service and an attention to detail that comes from more than 25 years of student travel experience. Trust Kaleidoscope’s outstanding staff to focus on your group’s one-of-a-kind adventure, so that you can focus on everything else!

Mark Spede is the band director at Clemson University and the current president of the College Band Directors National Association. In this episode he shares his story and talks about CBDNA’s role in funding the aerosol study at the University of Colorado.

Topics:

• Mark’s background and musical origin story.
• His journey from marching band novice to the director of the Clemson University band.
• Mark’s path to becoming president of CBDNA and the work that the organization has done with the COVID-19 pandemic.
• The backstory behind the aerosol study conducted during the summer of 2020.

Links:

• Mark Spede
• Clemson Tiger Band
• Maslanka: Symphony no. 4

Biography:

Dr. Mark J. Spede is Professor, Director of Bands, Director of Tiger Band, and Conductor of the Symphonic Band at Clemson University, where he administrates the band program (symphonic, athletic, and jazz bands). Dr. Spede is the recipient of the Clemson University 2009 Dean’s Award for Excellence in Teaching (College of Architecture, Arts and Humanities), and three Clemson University Board of Trustees Awards for Faculty Excellence (2008, 2009, and 2012). He teaches a number of courses, including two for the Calhoun Honors College: aesthetics of music and science of music. In 2012, Dr. Spede conducted the Clemson University Symphonic Band at venues in London, England, for the Summer Olympic Games. Also in 2012, he founded the Clemson Faculty Jazz Quintet, for which he plays drums. Dr. Spede earned a Bachelor of Music from the University of Michigan (1984), a Master of Music from Ball State University (1988), and a Doctor of Musical Arts from The University of Texas at Austin (1998). He has served the College Band Directors National Association (CBDNA) in a number of capacities. From 2003 to 2005, Dr. Spede served as state chair for South Carolina. He also served on the CBDNA “New Era Think Tank” from 2005 to 2007, and served as chair of the “Athletic Band Task Force” from 2005 to 2009. He served as President of the Southern Division of CBDNA (encompassing eleven southern states) and is currently serving as National President. In addition, he has served as president of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) Band Directors Association. Dr. Spede previously served on the faculties at The University of Texas at Austin (1998-1999) and the University of Florida in Gainesville (1989-1995) as Assistant Director of Bands. At Florida, he also taught studio percussion. As a freelance arranger, Dr. Spede has written extensively for high school and college marching bands (over 200 arrangements). His wind band arrangements and transcriptions are published by Peer Music, Schirmer, Boosey and Hawkes, and Carl Fischer, including “D.C. Fanfare” by John Corigliano, “Red Cape Tango” by Michael Daugherty, “Wedding Dances from Bandanna” by Daron Hagen, “Acrostic Song” by David Del Tredici, and “Millennium Canons” by Kevin Puts. He served as Assistant Conductor of the Dallas Wind Symphony, where he also helped produce two of their recordings. His professional performing experience includes orchestra (principal percussion in the Gainesville Chamber Orchestra, Muncie Symphony Orchestra, Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra, Flint Symphony Orchestra), jazz (performing with such artists as Randy Brecker, Ray Brown, Pete Christlieb, Dennis DiBlasio, Duffy Jackson, Dave Pell, Bobby Shew, Marvin Stamm, Bill Watrous, Ernie Watts and Phil Wilson), as well as at Walt Disney World.