Everything Band Podcast

Christian Michael Folk is a graduate student in music education at the University of South Carolina and the creator of the Diverse Composers of Wind Band Music database. He joins the show to tell the story of his young career and to share the story of how the database came to exist, some of the criticisms he faces, and thoughts about diversity in music education practice.

Topics:

• Christian’s background and his early teaching experiences.
• The Diverse Composers of Wind Band Music database.
• A LONG conversation about diversity in music.

Links:

• Diverse Composers of Wind Band Music Database
• Maslanka: A Child’s Garden of Dreams

Biography:

Christian Folk is a music educator, conductor, and performer interested in advocacy and resources for diverse composers and incorporating equity and anti-racism into the music education curriculum. Christian taught for three years in public and private schools in the Charlotte, NC, and Columbia, SC area, and is currently working on his Master's Degree in Music Education with emphasis in Conducting and Euphonium Performance at The University of South Carolina. As a conductor, Christian has guest conducted with the Carolina Wind Symphony and the Congaree New Horizons Band, and has participated in conducting symposia with John Locke, Cormac Cannon, and Scott Weiss. Christian has commissioned pieces from Cait Nishimura, Kimberly Archer, John Mackey, and Nathan Daughtrey. A strong advocate for music by diverse composers, Christian is the creator of two databases for wind band and orchestra that cataloged thousands of works by women composers and composers of color, which have been featured in clinics at The Midwest Clinic and the National Association for Music Education Conference. He is also a representative of the "...And We Were Heard" project. Christian lives in Columbia, South Carolina, with his wife, Christy, their dog, Linny, and two cats, Sirius and Kingsley.

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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!

Eric Jimenez is a co-host of The Score podcast and assistant band director at Prairie View A&M University. He joins the show for an exceptional conversation about his career, being a Latino band director, and ways that we can create more culturally responsive classrooms.

Topics:

• The score podcast and the story of Eric’s music journey, including the story of being a student at Prairie View A & M, the HBCU traditions, and his early career as a band director.
• Band director turnover in Title 1 schools and some advice for teachers.
• Eric’s decision to leave high school teaching to pursue his doctorate and the story of how he ended up back at Prairie View A&M.
• The lack of representation of Latinx composers and band directors in the band community.
• Culturally responsive teaching, avoiding appropriation, and teaching music authentically.

Links:

• Eric Jimenez
• The Score Podcast: An Urban Music Education Podcast
• Fitzpatrick-Harnish: Urban Music Education: A Practical Guide for Teachers
• Huapango, arr. A. Ramirez and J. Freer

Biography:

Eric Jimenez, Assistant Director of Bands/Adjunct Instructor at Prairie View A&M University, has revitalized several band programs throughout the Houston Independent School District. His programs at Sharpstown MS, Hamilton MS, Waltrip HS, Davis HS, & Heights HS Jimenez’ band programs increased both student participation and instrument inventory, as well as earned Division I and “Best in Class” ratings at UIL and numerous other festivals.

He is the recipient ofHamilton Middle School’s Teacher of the Year award in 2012, LULAC- League of United Latin American Citizens- Educator of the Year in 2015, and a Grammy Educational Award for his work at Davis HS in 2015. He is an active clinician, mentor, and consultant for arts educational programs within the Houston area and across Texas.

Eric is a 2009 graduate of Prairie View A&M University and earned his and his Master of Education in Educational Leadership from Lamar University in 2014. He is currently a Doctoral Music Education Student at the University of Houston Moores School of Music. His professional affiliations include Texas Music Educators Association (TMEA), Texas Bandmasters Association (TBA), Texas Jazz Educators Association (TJEA), National Association for Music Education (NAfME), Sigma Lambda Beta International Fraternity and honorary member Kappa Kappa Psi Honorary Band Fraternity.

Theresa Hoover Ducassoux is the band director at Dorothy Hamm Middle School in Arlington, Virginia and co-author of a forthcoming book titled Pass the Baton: Empowering All Music Students

Topics:

• Theresa tells the story of how she turned her piano skills into an instrumental music education track despite not playing a traditional band instrument.
• Following in the footsteps of a legend for her first job and the trials and tribulations of that experience.
• Using Solfege to teach students sound to sight and a timely discussion about technology for band directors in anticipation of at least partial remote learning for next year.
• Building relationships with students in an online environment.
• Empowering students and Theresa’s new book Pass the Baton: Empowering All Music Students

Links:

• Theresa Hoover Ducassoux/Off the Beaten Path
• Cole: 32 Chorales for Band
• Pass the Baton
• Tacet for Teachers
• Reed: La Fiesta Mexicana

Biography:

Theresa Hoover Ducassoux is a music educator, speaker, and writer. She is an advocate for student voice in the music room and helps teachers empower students throughout their musical experiences by transforming their classrooms into student-centered learning environments.

Currently, Theresa teaches middle school band at a newly opened school in Northern Virginia. Prior to moving to Virginia in 2016, she taught instrumental, general, and vocal music in a variety of settings in Pennsylvania for 13 years. She holds a bachelor’s degree in music education from Penn State University and a master’s degree in wind conducting from West Chester University, both in Pennsylvania.

Theresa is a recognized presenter and clinician at local, regional, and national level conferences including the International Music Education Summit, the Virginia Society for Technology in Education, and several state music education conferences. She is a Google for Education Certified Trainer and was selected as a member of the Google Certified Innovator program, participating in the London 2019 cohort.

In addition to her school teaching, Theresa served as the founding director of the Chester County Youth Wind Ensemble and is currently on staff of the Virginia Winds Academy. She has also been the guest conductor for several elementary and middle school ensembles in Pennsylvania and Virginia.

Theresa’s writing has been featured on websites including the NAfMEMusic in a Minuetblog, EdTechTeam, Band Directors Talk Shop, and We Are Teachers, as well as on her own blog, Off the Beaten Path: A Music Teacher’s Journey. Theresa is also the co-author ofPass the Baton: Empowering Students in the Music Room, set to release in the summer of 2020.

When not teaching, you can find Theresa curled up with a good book, on the running trail, traveling to visit family and friends, or spending time with her dog Dizzy.

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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!

Justin McClean is a band director in Houston, Texas and co-host of the “The Score”, which is an urban music education podcast. He joins the show for a very remarkable conversation about how we build a better band community.

Topics:

• Justin’s background story growing up in Texas and the role of the church in his background and why the church is so relevant to so many African-American musicians.
• Making connections to kids with the music that they listen to and some lessons that Justin took from his own high school band director.
• Justin’s thoughts about attending an HBCU (Historically Black College or University) and the important role that HBCU’s play in the music education community.
• A broad discussion about race in music and the band community and what we can do as band directors to communicate better and build a more inclusive profession.

Links:

• The Score: An Urban Music Education Podcast
• Ijeoma Olua: So You Want to Talk about Race?
• Holsinger: A Childhood Hymn

Biography:

Justin McLean is currently the Percussion Director/Assistant Director of Bands at Hightower HS and Lake Olympia MS Band in Fort Bend ISD.

Prior to his appointment at Hightower he was the Percussion Director/Associate Director of Bands at Heights High School and former director of bands at Hamilton Middle School. During his time there he has received superior UIL ratings at both middle and high school, developed region band students, and a quality indoor percussion ensemble.

Mr. McLean is a Texas native raised in Rosenberg, Texas a humble community right outside of Houston. Justin’s love of music began at an earlier age and was heavily influenced in church through both gospel and secular artists/musicians. His ambitions propelled him to strive for excellence not only in his personal aspirations, but also in his academic/professional life.

He received a bachelor’s degree in Music Education from Prairie View A&M University in 2011 and has had the pleasure of educating and training young musicians as a band director and percussion instructor for the past 9 years in HISD and now Fort Bend ISD. He is also devoted music director and student minister in his local church and currently pursuing an Masters Divinity degree through Reformed Theological Seminary.

Major Joseph Hansen is the commander and conductor of the United States Air Force Band of the Golden West based at Travis Air Force Base in Northern California.

Topics:

• Joseph’s early career growing up in Western Colorado and attending Brigham Young University.
• His early career as a teacher and the story of how he transitioned from teaching in Colorado Springs to joining the Air Force.
• A broad discussion of the Air Force Bands including careers in the Air Force, the organization the Air Force bands, and the overall mission of the units.
• Joseph’s career in the Air Force and a brief rundown of his assignments and deployments.
• Some of the resources provided by the Air Force Bands that are available to music educators.

Links:

• Air Force Band of the Golden West
• Brahms: Symphony No. 3
• Schuman: New England Triptych: Chester
• Williams: E.T. the Extraterrestrial Soundtrack
• Miller: In the Mood

Biography:

Major Joseph S. Hansen serves as the Commander and Conductor of the United States Air Force Band of the Golden West at Travis Air Force Base, California, a 60-member musical unit comprised of eight different performing groups with a 5-state area of responsibility serving Air Mobility Command.

Prior to this command assignment, MajorHansen served as an opinion leader engagement action officer for the Secretary of the Air Force Office of Public Affairs. He was the think tank engagement advisor and liaison for the Chief of Staff and Vice Chief of Staff of the Air Force, as well as senior Pentagon and MAJCOM leaders, and was responsible for developing and implementing public support and understanding of Air Force roles and missions.

Previously, MajorHansen served as assistant director of operations and flight commander for the United States Air Force Band, Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling, Washington, D.C. During his tenure with the band, he served as officer in charge of the Concert Band, Singing Sergeants, Air Force Strings, and Max Impact as well as overseeing the unit’s marketing, operations, and resource sections.

He deployed in support of Operation Enduring Freedom (2014) and Operations Inherent Resolve and Freedom’s Sentinel (2018) to Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar and served as the U.S. Air Forces Central Command (AFCENT) Band officer in charge. Through his leadership, deployed bands traveled to Afghanistan, Iraq, Egypt and 10 other countries performing for 50,000 military and local audience members on over 250 missions.

Major Hansen began his Air Force career in 2009 as deputy commander of the USAF Band of the West at Joint Base San Antonio, Texas. In 2011, he planned and directed the band’s first combined concert with the San Antonio Symphony.

Prior to joining the Air Force, MajorHansen was a band and orchestra teacher in Colorado Springs, Colorado. He graduated with honors from Brigham Young University with a Bachelor of Music degree in Music Education in 2006. He went on to complete his Master of Music degree from Southern Oregon University through the American Band College in 2009. MajorHansen completed all coursework and exams towards his Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Music Education in 2017, and is currently in the dissertation process.

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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!

Cheryl Floyd has taught middle school band in Austin, TX for over 30 years and is one of the most highly regarded middle school band directors in the country. She is the recipient of numerous awards and honors and has commissioned or been part of the consortium for 14 works for band.

Topics:

• Cheryl's background growing up in Texas, going to Baylor University and starting her career as a teacher.
• The importance of encouraging students and giving them the type of positive feedback that keeps them playing.
• The background stories of a few of the 14 works that she has been a part of commissioning.
• Peer leadership in the middle school band.
• Teaching in Texas and the power of sound to sight teaching.
• A general discussion about teaching beginners and middle school band.
• An anecdote about George Steinbrenner.

Links:

• Cheryl Floyd at Music for All
• 204 Progressive Sight Reading Tunes
• Bernstein: Suite from "Candide"
• Mozart: Serenade for 13 Winds in B-flat major, K. 361 "Gran Partita"

Biography:

Cheryl Floyd completed her twenty-fifth year as Director of Bands at Hill Country Middle School in Austin, Texas in May 2017. The Hill Country Middle School Band is recognized as one if the exemplary middle school programs in the nation. Prior to her tenure at Hill Country, she served as Director of Bands at Murchison Middle School, also in Austin, for eight years. Musical organizations under her leadership have consistently been sited for musical excellence at both local contests and national invitational festivals. Mrs. Floyd is recognized nationally for her educational and musical vision and commitment at the middle school level. In 1990 her Murchison program was the recipient of the coveted Sudler Cup Award presented to exceptional middle school band programs by the John Philip Sousa Foundation. The Hill Country Middle School Band has performed at the Midwest Band and Orchestra Clinic in 1998 and again in 2006, Music For All’s National Concert Band Festival in Indianapolis (March 2012),and most recently at the Western International Band Clinic (November 2014) under Mrs. Floyd’s direction.

Mrs. Floyd routinely serves as a conductor on the University of Texas at Austin band camp faculty and has been a member of summer music faculties at Music For All's Summer Symposium, Arkansas Tech University, Baylor University, Texas Lutheran University Stephen F. Austin University, University of Colorado at Boulder, and the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis. She enjoys an active schedule as an adjudicator, clinician, author and guest conductor throughout the United States, having served as one of the first women guest conductors of the United States Navy Band in Washington, D.C. in September, 1998.

Cheryl Floyd was the recipient of the Texas Bandmasters Association Exemplary Middle School Band Program Citation and she appeared on the cover of the May 2005 Instrumentalist magazine which contained a featured article on the Hill Country Middle School band program.

In 2003, Mrs. Floyd was elected to the American Bandmasters’Association. She is the fifth female member of this 225 member organization and was the first middle school band director to be chosen for ABA membership. She serves on that organization’s selection committee for the prestigious Sousa/ABA/Ostwald Composition Competition.

For nearly three decades, she has maintained a keen interest incommissioning new works for concert band and has collaborated with such internationally recognized composers as Frank Ticheli,Cajun Folk Songs,Shenandoah, Bob Margolis,Renaissance Fair, Dana Wilson,Sang!, Ron Nelson,Courtly Airs and Dances, Steven Barton,Hill Country Flourishes, Chris Tucker,Twilight in the Wilderness. Catherine McMichael,Cape Breton Postcard,Undertow,by John MackeySpangled Heavensby Donald Grantham, a consortium commission for TMEA's MS Region 18 by Viet Cuong entitledDiamond Tide, and most recently,Sparkleby Scott McAllister.. The works generated by these ongoing projects have been widely acclaimed as being among the most significant works for young band.

A 1980 graduate of Baylor University, Mrs. Floyd has also done graduate work at the University of Texas with Paula Crider, Robert Duke and Karl Kraber.

Since 1985 she has served as co-principal flute with the Austin Symphonic Band and in this capacity has performed at the Midwest International Band and Orchestra Clinic in 1989, 1997 and 2007, the American Bandmasters Association in 1993 and 2006 and before the Texas Music Educators Association and Texas Bandmasters Association on numerous occasions. She is a member of ABA, TMEA, TBA, and Phi Beta Mu.

In 2016 she was named a Yamaha Master Educator, one of only 18 in the nation. As such she is positioned to appear throughout the United States as a conductor, clinician and educator representing Yamaha. She annually serves as an evaluator for the Music For All National Concert Band Festival and was recently appointed to the Middle School Educational team for the Music For All Summer Symposium. Looming on the horizon is a book to be published by GIA Publications entitled “Middle School My Way.”
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Paramount in her life is her musical family including her husband, Richard Floyd, State Director of Music Emeritus at the University of Texas and their son, Richard Weston, who holds a trombone performance degree from the University of Texas and is pursuing his musical career in Los Angeles.

Richard Floyd has been involved in music education for 58 years. His accolades and achievements are too numerous to list and he is a legendary name not only in Texas, but throughout the entire band community.

Topics:

• Richard’s background growing up in the Dallas area, his early band experiences, marching in Eisenhower’s inauguration, and how he got involved in music education.
• Thoughts about building connections and growing during your career.
• The Texas band tradition and the University Interscholastic League (UIL).

Links:

• Richard Floyd at Music for All
• University Interscholastic League
• Sousa: Daughters of Texas
• Austin Symphonic Band
• Mozart: Serenade for 13 Winds in B-flat major, K. 361 "Gran Partita"
• Dahl: Sinfonietta

Biography:

Richard Floyd is presently in his 57th year of active involvement as a conductor, music educator and administrator. He has enjoyed a distinguished and highly successful career at virtually every level of wind band performance from beginning band programs through high school and university wind ensembles as well as adult community bands. In 2014 Floyd retired as State Director of Music at the University of Texas at Austin where he coordinated all facets of secondary school music competition for some 3500 performing organizations throughout the state for 30 years. He now holds the title Texas State Director of Music Emeritus. He also serves as Musical Director and Conductor of the Austin Symphonic Band that is viewed to be one of the premier adult concert bands in America. In addition, he maintains an active schedule as conductor, clinician, lecturer and mentor.

Prior to his appointment at the University of Texas, Mr. Floyd served on the faculty at the University of South Florida as Professor of Conducting and at Baylor University in Texas where he held the position of Director of Bands for nine years. He began his career as band director at Richardson Junior High School and then become the first director of the award winning J.J. Pearce High School Band in the same city. He also served as Director of Fine Arts for that district for two years before moving to Baylor University in 1973.

His musical achievements include performances at numerous state and national conventions and conferences including the 1977 College Band Directors National Association, the 1981 Music Educators National Conference and concerts at the Midwest International Band and Orchestra Clinic in Chicago in 1989, 1997 and 2007. Other distinguished performances include concerts for the American Bandmasters Association in 1993 and 2006 and the 2004 Western International Band Clinic in Seattle, Washington. Performances by his various ensembles have been heard throughout the United States, Australia and Europe.

Mr. Floyd is a recognized authority on conducting, the art of wind band rehearsing, concert band repertoire, and music advocacy. As such, he has toured extensively throughout the United States, Canada, Australia and Europe as a clinician, adjudicator and conductor including appearances in 43 American states and in 9 other countries. He is a frequent featured clinician for the Texas Music Educators Association, the Texas Bandmasters Association, countless other state conferences and has presented five conducting and rehearsal technique clinics for the Mid-West International Band and Orchestra Clinic.

In 2002 he was the single recipient of the prestigious A.A. Harding Award presented by the American School Band Directors Association in recognition of his significant and lasting contributions to the school band movement. The Texas Bandmasters Association named him Texas Bandmaster of the Year in 2006 and also recognized him with the TBA Lifetime Administrative Achievement Award in 2008. Most recently he received the Texas Music Educators Association Distinguished Service Award in 2009 and was inducted into the Bands of America Hall of Fame and Texas Phi Beta Mu Hall of Fame in 2011. Also, in 2011 he was awarded the Midwest International Band and Orchestra Clinic Medal of Honor for distinguished service and contributions to bands, orchestras and music education. In 2014 he was inducted into the National Band Association Academy of Wind and Percussion Arts considered to be the “academy award” for wind band conductors. The same year he was also honored with the Kappa Kappa Phi Distinguished Service to Music medal. Most recently the Dallas Winds, Jerry Junkin conductor, recognized Floyd as the 2017 Texas Legendary Bandmaster.

Publications include co-authorship of Best Music For Beginning Band and contributing author for The Musician’s Walk by James Jordon and published by GIA. In addition, his articles have appeared in numerous national and international publications. In 2006 he was featured on the GIA Produced DVD entitled Kindred Spirits from the series Conducting From The Inside Out. Other conductors included H. Robert Reynolds, Craig Kirchhoff and Allan McMurray. In 2015 his book entitled The Artistry of Teaching and Making Music was published to critical acclaim by GIA Publications. A second book, The Seven Deadly Sins of Music Making will be published in late 2020.

During Mr. Floyd’s professional career, he has held positions of leadership on many state and national committees for music education and wind music performance. He served as National Secretary of the College Band Directors National Association from 1979 to 2007 and has played an active leadership role in the implementation of that organization’s many projects and services for over three decades. He currently serves on the Board of Directors for Music For All, as a member of the John Philip Sousa Foundation Board of Directors, and in 2016 was named a Yamaha Master Educator.

Paramount in his life is his wife Cheryl, who enjoys her own distinguished career as one of the premier middle school directors in the nation, their son Weston who is pursuing his own musical journey and Dick’s daughter Chris and her extended family.

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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!

Andrew David Perkins is a band director and composer. He joins the show and offers a very clear-eyed view of our profession and offers some wisdom and advice earned from his own career.

Topics:

• Andy’s background, his early high school teaching experiences and how being in Phantom Regiment and the Michigan State Marching Band helped to shape his success teaching a marching band.
• The balance between over programming and under programming and how it can set students up for success or failure.
• Moving from teaching high school to middle school and the experience of having your 18th year as a teacher be your first to teach beginners.
• Andy’s growing composition career, how he got his start writing music, and music publishing models.

Links:

• Andrew David Perkins
• Grainger: Children’s March
• Respighi: Pines of Rome
• Williams: ET Bicycle Race

Biography:

Composer, conductor, three-time ASCAP+ Award recipient, and GRAMMY® nominated music educator Andrew David Perkins (b.1978) holds a specialist certificate in Orchestration from the Berklee College of Music, a Master of Music degree from the University of Michigan, and a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Michigan State University. Finalist for The National Band Association Revelli Award & Merrill Jones Award, The American Prize, and the Ravel International Composition Prize, Perkins' music is regularly performed at national and state contests, conferences, and at the Midwest International Band Clinic. A celebrated guest clinician nationally and abroad, he enjoys working with musicians of all ages, and is the winner of the 2018 National Band Association/Alfred Publishing Young Band Composition Contest.

​Mr. Perkins is a member of the American Society of Composers Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) and his music is exclusively published through APOLLO STUDIOS Music Publishing. He resides in Michigan with the love of his life and their daughters.

Robert Ambrose is the director of bands at Georgia State University, the conductor of the Atlanta Chamber Winds and the National Chamber Winds, founder of the Digital Director's Lounge, and is the chair of the CBDNA Covid-19 Response Committee.

Topics:

• Robert’s journey from guitarist to college band director and all of the people who took an interest in his career and helped to push him along.
• Having the courage to ask for what you want and a brief discussion of impostor syndrome.
• The band program at Georgia State, the Atlanta Chamber Winds, and the National Chamber Winds.
• The CBDNA Covid-19 Response Committee and the Digital Director’s Lounge.

Links:

• Robert Ambrose
• CBDNA Covid-19 Committee Report
• Atlanta Chamber Winds
• National Chamber Winds
• Mozart: Serenade for 13 Winds in B-flat major, K. 361 "Gran Partita"
• Maslanka: Symphony no. 4

Biography:

Conductor Robert J. Ambrose is a versatile musician who pursues a wide range of professional activities. Ambrose currently serves as Director of Bands at Georgia State University, a research institution of over 53,000 students located in Atlanta. Under his direction, the Georgia State Band program has received widespread recognition with performances at the College Band Directors National Association Southern Division Conferences, the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, and the 2013 Presidential Inaugural Parade; and internationally-distributed recordings on the Summit and GIA labels.

Ambrose is in constant demand as a guest conductor throughout the world and has conducted on four continents. Recent engagements include performances in Australia, Canada, Finland, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Taiwan as well as across the United States. Dr. Ambrose has a particularly strong relationship with the Finnish music community, having been engaged in that country over a dozen times as a guest conductor, teacher, master clinician, and lecturer. He has also served as a guest conductor on tour with The United States Army Field Band.

Ambrose is Founder and Music Director of the Atlanta Chamber Winds and the Washington D.C.-based National Chamber Winds, Co-Founder of Bent Frequency Contemporary Music Ensemble, and Founder and Principal Guest Conductor of the Metropolitan Atlanta Youth Wind Ensemble. Ambrose’s transcriptions and editions are published by Presser Music, C. Alan Publications, and Fennica Gehrman, and his arrangements appear on several state music lists. Ambrose studied at Boston College, Boston University, and Northwestern University, where he received the Doctor of Music degree in conducting. Ambrose is a Conn-Selmer Educational Clinician.

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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!

Aaron Perrine is a composer and two-time winner of the American Bandmasters Association Sousa/Ostwald Award. He joins the show to talk about his career and shares some remarkable anecdotes from his journey so far.

Topics:

• Aaron’s daughter and keeping kids motivated during the period of online learning.
• Aaron’s background in music and growing up in Minnesota as the grandson and son of band directors.
• Aaron’s experiences at the University of Minnesota Morris and the importance of jazz in his musical development.
• A brave decision by a studio teacher that helped Aaron be successful in his music degree an also helped to kick off his composition career.
• Aaron’s decision to leave college teaching to become a full-time composer and advice for anyone thinking about starting to write music.

Links:

• Aaron Perrine
• Schneider: Winter Morning Walks
• Bon Iver: 22, A Million
• Brahms: Intermezzo in A, Op. 118, no. 2
• Colgrass: Winds of Nagual
• Maslanka: A Child's Garden of Dreams
• Perrine: Only Light

Biography:

With works in a variety of genres, Aaron Perrine’s music has been performed by some of the leading ensembles and soloists across the United States and beyond. He is a two-time winner of the American Bandmasters Association Sousa/Ostwald Award for his compositions:Only Lightin 2015 andPale Blue on Deepin 2013.Only Light—commissioned by the University of Iowa Symphony Band, Richard Mark Heidel, conductor—was included on the latest University of Kansas Wind Ensemble recording (Of Shadow and Light,Klavier). Another one of his compositions—Temperance—recently won the 2017 CBDNA Young Band Composition Contest.His music for winds has also been featured at the 2017 CBDNA National Conference, multiple regional CBDNA Conferences, The Midwest Clinic, The Western International Band Clinic, and at numerous all-state, state conference and honor band concerts.

Perrine’s music for saxophone has also received many notable performances.Primal—for saxophone quartet—was performed at the 2014 NASA Biennial Conference in Urbana-Champaign, Illinois, and the 2012 World Saxophone Congress XVI in St. Andrews, Scotland.Bridge Suite—for alto saxophone and cello—was performed at the 2012 NASA Biennial Conference in Tempe, Arizona. This past summer,It Has to Be Beautiful, a concerto for alto saxophone and wind ensemble, was premiered by Kenneth Tse with the Symphonic Wind Orchestra of Croatian Armed Forces at the 2018 World Saxophone Congress, in Zagreb, Croatia.

In addition to composing, Perrine is an active conductor and educator. He has conducted a variety of honor bands, with his most recent appearance being the 2018 All-Iowa 8^thGrade Honor Band. Future conducting engagements include the 2021 South Dakota All-State Band. He is currently on the faculty at Cornell College in Mt. Vernon, Iowa.

Perrine has received degrees from the University of Iowa, the University of Minnesota and the University of Minnesota, Morris. For more information, please visit aaronperrine.com.