DR. JOHN CODY BIRDWELL
is Director of Bands at the University of Kentucky, where his duties include conducting the University of Kentucky Wind Symphony, directing graduate programs in wind-band conducting, teaching graduate courses in instrumental conducting, history and literature, and supervising the administration of the University of Kentucky band program in the School of Music. Prior to his appointment at the University of Kentucky, Dr. Birdwell served as Director of Bands at Texas Tech University, Director of Bands at Utah State University, Assistant Director of Bands at the University of Illinois, and Director of Bands at Northern Michigan University. Dr. Birdwell’s ensembles have toured extensively throughout the United States, China, and Great Britain, and the University of Kentucky Wind Symphony was recently selected to perform at the 2013 National Convention of the College Band Directors National Association. Ensembles under Dr. Birdwell’s direction have also performed at numerous CBDNA national and division Conferences, and have also performed for the Kentucky Music Educator’s Association, Texas Music Educators Convention, Texas Bandmaster’s Association Convention, and the Utah Music Educators Association. In 2008 the UK Wind Symphony toured the People’s Republic of China, and performed to capacity audiences in the cities of Suzhou, Yangzhou, Changzhou, and Beijing.   Dr. Birdwell is an elected member of the prestigious American Bandmasters Association and holds degrees from The University of North Texas and West Texas A&M University.  He serves as President-Elect President of the College Band Directors National Association Southern Division, and holds memberships in the College Band Directors National Association, National Band Association, Kentucky Music Educators Association, National Association for Music Education, Phi Beta Mu, Michigan School Band and Orchestra Association, Kappa Kappa Psi and Phi Mu Alpha. He remains active as a guest conductor, clinician and adjudicator throughout the United States and abroad.

DR. MICHAEL BURCH-PESSES

is Director of Bands at Pacific University in Forest Grove, Oregon where he conducts the Wind Ensemble, Jazz Band, and Jazz Choir, and teaches courses in conducting, music education, and MIDI technology. He also works with the Pacific University School of Education, supervising music education interns during their student teaching as they earn the master of arts in teaching degree. He holds master of music and doctor of musical arts degrees in conducting from the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. Since coming to Pacific University in 1995 he received the Junior Faculty Award (1998) and was named a Wye Fellow of the Aspen Institute (1999). In 2006, he received the S.S. Johnson Foundation Award for Excellence in Teaching.  He enjoyed a distinguished career as a bandmaster in the U.S. Navy before arriving at Pacific University, enlisting as a hornist and working his way up through the ranks to become the Navy’s senior bandmaster and head of the Navy Music Program. During his Navy career, he served as leader of the Naval Academy Band in Annapolis, Md. Under his direction, the Naval Academy Band received the George Howard Citation of Musical Excellence from the John Philip Sousa Foundation, the highest civilian award for a military band. He also served as assistant leader of the Navy Band in Washington, D.C, and director of the Commodores, the Navy’s official jazz ensemble. An internationally active adjudicator, lecturer and clinician, he has conducted festival and honor bands throughout the United States, Canada, South America, Europe, Asia, and Australia.  In 2000 he conducted the British Columbia All-Province Honour Band, and in 2002 he adjudicated the National Concert Band Festival of New Zealand.  Dr. Burch-Pesses also is the conductor and musical director of the Oregon Symphonic Band, Oregon’s premier adult band. The band celebrated its 20th anniversary with a performance at the Midwest Clinic in 2006. The following year the band was awarded the Sudler Silver Scroll by the John Philip Sousa Foundation. The Oregon Symphonic Band is composed primarily of musicians from the Portland/Vancouver area. Men and women of many professions are represented in the ensemble, which performs three concert series annually and has appeared in concert at numerous state, regional, and international music conferences, including the prestigious Midwest Clinic in Chicago. His performance at the Midwest Clinic resulted in his being awarded the Citation of Excellence from the National Band Association. His professional affiliations include the Oregon Music Educators Association, Music Educators National Conference, and Oregon Band Directors Association. He also is the Oregon chair of the College Band Directors National Association and a charter member of the Oregon chapter of Phi Beta Mu.

DR. STEVEN CAPALDO

distinguished himself as one of the most respected music educators, wind conductors and conductor educators in Australia, earning academic and musical recognition internationally.  He is currently  Associate Professor of Music Education & Conducting and Wind Symphony Conductor at the University of Victoria, Canada. He previously held positions in Music Education at the University of Wollongong (Australia) and the University of Victoria, and was Conductor of the Sydney University Wind Orchestra and the UNSW Wind Symphony. An active writer, Dr. Capaldo composes, arranges and transcribes music for wind orchestras, symphony orchestras, festivals and concerts and his works have been performed by groups in Australia, Canada, Japan and the United States, and recorded on Klavier records (US).  An Assistant Producer for eight Klavier Records CD, Dr. Capaldo became a full voting member for the US Grammy Awards in 2010 and was Chair of the Australian Jury Panel for the 2017 Eurovision Song Contest.  He is highly-active and in-demand as a conductor, clinician and adjudicator having worked at local, state/provincial, national and international levels including MusicFest and as Chief Conductor of the British Columbia Honour Wind Ensemble. 

DR. JACQUIE DAWSON

Assistant Professor at the Desautels Faculty of Music at the University of Manitoba, is noted for her unique ability to create an inspiring ensemble experience and sculpt an impressive wind band sound. She is in demand as a guest conductor, clinician and adjudicator across Canada. Guest conducting engagements have included the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra New Music Festival, Alberta Band Association Wind Symphony, the Manitoba Junior and Intermediate Honour Bands, the PEI Provincial Honors Band, and the International Music Camp. Adjudicating engagements include Musicfest Canada, University of Victoria Bandfest, Cantando and Con Brio Festivals, Alberta Band Association Festival of Bands and the Boao International Music Festival in Boas, China. She has been published in the Canadian Music Educator Journal and the Canadian Winds Journal, and has presented at numerous conferences across Canada, including the Canadian Music Educators’ Association National Conference. Her research interests are in community music, the relationship between music education and the cultivation of community, as well as inclusion in instrumental music education. She is a recipient of University of Manitoba School of Music Excellence in Music Education Award, the University of Manitoba Teacher Recognition Award and the Manitoba Band Association Award of Distinction. Jacquie Dawson holds BMus and BMusic Education degrees from Memorial University of Newfoundland, and an MMus, Conducting, from the University of Manitoba.

DR. MARK  J. WALKER

B serves as Director of Bands and Professor of Music at Troy University where he conducts the Troy University Symphony Band, the nationally renowned “Sound of the South” Marching Band, teaches graduate and undergraduate courses in conducting, marching band techniques, measurement and evaluation, and wind literature.  In addition to his teaching duties, Dr. Walker serves as Chairman of the Southeastern United States Clinic and Honor Bands, Executive Director of the Middle School Southeastern United States Band Clinic and Honor Bands, and is the Director of the “Sound of the South” Summer Music Camp and Director’s Clinic. He also serves as Co-Chair of the National Band Association’s Hall of Fame of Distinguished Band Directors. Dr. Walker is a published author, whose articles appears in various music education publications and is the editor of the book The Art of Interpretation of Band Music published by GIA. He is a contributor to The Euphonium Source Book, published by Indiana University Press. Additionally, Dr. Walker is the Associate Editor of the Journal of Band Research.  Dr. Walker earned his bachelor’s degree in music education at Tennessee Technological University, where he studied euphonium with R. Winston Morris, conducting with Joseph Hermann and composition with Robert Jager. He received his master’s and doctorate degrees in music education form the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign during which time he studied euphonium with Mark Moore, and conduction with James Keene. Dr. Walker is also the recipient of the prestigious A.A. Harding Award from the University of Illinois Bands. As a performer, Dr. Walker is heard on the Grammy Award nominated compact disc Euphoniums Unlimited on the Mark Records label. He has performed as a featured soloist with the Tennessee Tech University Symphony Band, the Westwinds Brass Band, Troy University Summer Band, and the Plainview (TX) Symphony Orchestra. Bands and students under Dr. Walker’s direction have received many honors at the regional and state level in Texas, where he taught middle school and high school band. In addition, Dr. Walker keeps an active guest conducting and clinic schedule, and has appeared as conductor, clinician, and adjudicator in Canada and throughout Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Hawaii, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, Tennessee and Texas. Recently, Dr. Walker was a guest conductor with the United States Air Force Band and the United States Navy Band. He conducted the Troy University Symphony Band in the opening concert of the 80th Annual Convention of the American Bandmasters Association. In 2009, Dr. Walker received the honor of conducting both the Royal Hawaiian Band and the Marine Forces Pacific Band, located in Honolulu, Hawaii. In 2015 and 2016, Dr. Walker conducted the Oregon Symphonic Band and the California State University Long Beach Wind Symphony, respectively at the American Bandmasters Association Convention. Dr. Walker is an elected member of the prestigious American Bandmasters Association. His past and present professional affiliation include Phi Beta Mu, CBDNA, National Band Association, NAfME, Alabama Music Education Association, Alabama Bandmasters Association, Kappa Kappa Psi, Phi Mu Alpha, Kappa Delta Pi, Phi Delta Kappa, Tau Beta Sigma, Sigma Alpha Iota, Texas Bandmasters Association, and World Association of Symphonic Bands and Ensembles.

DR. WENDY ZANDER McCALLUM

is a Professor in the Brandon University School of Music where she conducts the Symphonic Band and teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in music education and conducting. Committed to excellence in music education, she taught band and general elementary music before pursuing graduate studies. In addition to designing professional development sessions for music educators, she has presented at provincial music education conferences, the College Band Directors National Association regional conference, and the International Midwest Band and Orchestra Clinic. Her work as an adjudicator and clinician for concert and jazz ensembles has taken her across Canada and the United States.  She serves as guest conductor of university, community and military ensembles, at the International and Rushmore Music Camps and as facilitator of conducting symposia. She has conducted junior high and high school regional, provincial, and state honor bands and the 2018 National Youth Band of Canada. Dr. McCallum has worked to create professional opportunities for students and music educators in the areas of performance and music education. For fifteen years she hosted Avenues: Exploring Band and Jazz Methods an annual summer professional development workshop at Brandon University and as Faculty Advisor for the Brandon University Student Music Educators Association (BUSMEA). She was awarded Brandon University Alumni Association’s Excellence in Teaching Award as well as the Manitoba Band Association’s Award of Distinction and the Canadian Band Association’s National Band Award. She is a Teaching Affiliate with Brandon University’s Centre for Teaching, Learning, and Technology and an Educational Clinician with the Conn-Selmer Division of Education. Dr. McCallum holds Bachelor degrees in Music and Education from Brandon University completed a Master of Music in Instrumental Conducting at the University of North Dakota and received her Doctor of Musical Arts from the University of North Texas. She completed her cognate studies in Music Education with Deborah Rohwer and Darhyl Ramsey. She worked as Lead Writer of the Manitoba Grade 9-12 Music Curriculum Framework, has published in Canadian Winds, and is a regular contributor to the publication and recording series Teaching Music Through Performance in Band and Teaching Music Through Performance in Beginning Band.  She is former President of both the Manitoba Band Association and Canadian Band Association. 

DR. CHARLES A. MAGUIRE

received a B.M.E. from Troy State University in 1998, where he studied under Dr. John M. Long, Ralph Ford and Robert W. Smith and holds a Master of Music in Wind Conducting program from the University of Alabama, where he served as the assistant conductor of the University Wind Ensemble.  During his teaching tenure, Maguire served as a CMENC clinician, presenting clinics on “How To Teach In Less Than Ideal Situations”. He was named to “Who’s Who Among American High School Teachers” five consecutive years.  In 2000 Maguire founded the “Pride of Pleasure Island” Marching Band and the Gulf Shores Symphonic Winds. Among the students, 10 were selected for the Alabama All-State Band Festival, 28 attended honor bands across the state, and 128 received superior ratings at the district-level solo and ensemble festival. In three years, the band grew from 19 students to over 300.  He is the founding artistic director of The Desert Winds, established in  2009.  In the vocal arena, he has held lead roles in college musical theater productions and has performed with community choral programs. He has maintained his principal instruments, the flute and piccolo, in community musicals and most recently, the UNLV Wind Orchestra. His music affiliations include The National Band Association, College Band Directors National Association, Alabama Bandmasters Association, National Education Association, Alabama Education Association, Music Educators National Conference, and Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia Professional Music Fraternity. 

DR. SCOTT MACLENNAN

is an active adjudicator, clinician, and guest conductor who frequently works with ensembles, schools, honour groups, and festivals across Canada. He is an Adjunct Professor at the University of British Columbia and has been the Music Director of the Kwantlen Polytechnic University Wind Ensemble and the Music Director at the Byng Arts Academy in the Performing and Visual Arts in Vancouver, B.C. For more than 30 years, he has taught bands and orchestras at all levels from elementary to post-secondary and performed extensively on bassoon. He has conducted his award-winning ensembles in various locations throughout the United Kingdom, Ireland, France, Belgium, Germany, Austria, Italy, China, the United States, and Canada. His ensembles have performed in such notable venues as Carnegie Hall, New York, USA, and Santa Maria della Pieta (Vivaldi’s Church) in Venice, Italy. In March 2011, with Johan de Meji’s endorsement, Dr. MacLennan conducted the Canadian premiere of his composition At Kitty O’Shea’s. He holds a Bachelor of Music (1988) and a Bachelor of Education (1990) from the University of British Columbia, a Master of Music (2010) in Conducting (Wind Band) from Sam Houston State University, Texas, and a Ph.D. (2015) from the University of British Columbia. He studied conducting with Ken Hsieh, Morihiro Okabe, and Wayne Toews and participated in numerous conducting master classes given by Kazuyoshi Akiyama, Anthony Maiello, Ralph Hultgren, and Robert Ponto. As an active music educator, he has worked for the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra to edit and draft curriculum for their VSO Connects (Secondary) program, chaired the BC Music Educator’s Association’s Conference Pulse 2006, and currently sits as a board member of the Chamber Music in the Schools Society. He is a recipient of the BC Music Educators’ Association’s Outstanding Professional Music Educator’s Award in recognition of exemplary commitment, talent, and leadership for music education in British Columbia.

DR. GERALD KING

Professor Emeritus, the University of Victoria, British Columbia, served as Professor of Music where he was the Head of Music Education, Graduate Wind Conducting, and conducted the UVic Wind Symphony. From 2004-2012 he served as Director of the School of Music.  With his leadership and guidance the University of Victoria School of Music was awarded the designation as Canada’s first and only All-Steinway School. Internationally recognized as one of Canada’s most respected conductors, adjudicators, educators and keynote speakers, Dr. King is the recipient of numerous honours and awards, including the Order of the Phoenix by the Western International Band Clinic; election into Phi Beta Mu; election into the American Bandmasters Association (2003) when he served as guest conductor of the United States Army Band (Pershing’s Own); recipient of the British Columbia Music Educators’ Honorary Life Award “in recognition of a lifetime of commitment of time, talent, and energies to music education in British Columbia;” and, in September 2015 was inducted as an Honorary Member of the Naden Band of the Royal Canadian Navy.  Although he is primarily recognized as a conductor of Wind Bands, Dr. King is equally comfortable conducting Orchestras and Choirs. He is a former student of internationally renowned conductor, Maestro Kazuyoshi Akiyama with whom he studied the Saito Conducting Technique.  His professional career has taken him throughout the world. Dr. King’s conducting appearances with Regional, National, International Honour and Professional Ensembles have been praised for performance quality, artistry, and creativity. Over the past 25 years he has worked with over 10,000 ensembles and soloists representing more than 500,000 musicians. Throughout his career he has been a champion of new music, premiering over 30 compositions, and woeking with over 50 guest artists. In addition to conducting, Dr. King has many years of performing experience as a professional clarinetist.  He is also widely recognized as an expert for his ability to link theory and practice in the field of teaching and learning. Among his many recordings and publications is a chapter in the book, Creativity and Music Education written by seventeen authors from the United States, Canada, Israel, Australia, Great Britain, Spain, and Scotland. Dr. King has also completed a well-received DVD—The Craft of Conducting.

DR. REBECCA PHILLIPS

is Professor of Music and Director of Bands at Colorado State University where she conducts the CSU Wind Symphony and guides all aspects of the band and graduate wind conducting programs. Prior to this appointment, she served as the Associate Director of Bands and Director of Athletic Bands at the University of South Carolina where she was responsible for directing the Symphonic Winds Concert Band, “The Mighty Sound of the Southeast” Carolina Marching Band, “Concocktion” Pep Bands, teaching undergraduate instrumental conducting, and directing the Carolina Summer Drum Major Clinic.  Dr. Phillips has served as a guest-conductor, clinician, and performer throughout North America, Europe, and Asia. Most recently, she was invited to conduct the Department of Defense All-Europe High School Honor Band (Frankfurt, Germany). Other guest invitations include conducting the wind band and symphony orchestra for the “2019 Prague Multicultural Music Project” and conducting members of the Prague National Symphony at the inaugural “2017 American Spring Festival” (Prague, Czech Republic.) In 2018, she conducted members of the Des Moines Symphony in a chamber concert for the Iowa Bandmasters Association annual conference. Dr. Phillips regularly conducts collegiate honor bands, all-state bands, and festival bands across the United States, Canada, and Europe and she has been a rehearsal clinician at the Midwest Clinic: An International Band and Orchestra Conference. Ensembles under her direction have been featured at the 2020 Colorado Music Educators Association Convention, the 2019 American Bandmasters Association National Convention, the 2012 College Band Director’s National Association Southern Division Conference, the 2010 Society of Composers International Conference, and the 2008 North American Saxophone Alliance International Convention. Dr. Phillips believes in treasuring the traditional wind music of the past as well as promoting cutting edge works of today’s finest composers. She has commissioned and conducted world and consortium premieres of works by several leading composers, including William Bolcom, James David, John Mackey, John Fitz Rogers, Adam Silverman, Frank Ticheli, and Dana Wilson to name a few. Her conducting performances of David del Tredici’s In Wartime and John Mackey’s Redline Tango are both featured on the nationally distributed Louisiana State University Wind Ensemble compact disc project and the world premiere of John Fitz Rogers Narragansett is featured on the Compact Disc And I Await, featuring Dr. Phillips as guest conductor of the University of South Carolina Wind Ensemble. As a trombonist, Dr. Phillips’ performances can be found on several internationally distributed recordings. She has performed with the National Symphony Orchestra, U.S. Army Band (Pershing’s Own), the Tallahassee Symphony, and the Tampa Bay Opera Orchestra. She has also performed internationally in England, Mexico, the Caribbean, Russia, and Sweden, and has toured as a trombonist with Johnny Mathis and Barry Manilow. A native of the Washington, D.C. area, Dr. Phillips earned her Bachelor’s degree in Music Education from The Florida State University, Master of Music degrees in conducting and trombone performance from the University of South Florida, and a Doctorate of Musical Arts in conducting at Louisiana State University. She served as a secondary school band director for seven years in Florida, including Director of Bands at Howard W. Blake Performing Arts High School in Tampa, Florida where she developed an award-winning concert band program. Currently, she is the President of the National Band Association, chair of the Music Education Committee for the College Band Directors National Association, and co-chair of the American Bandmasters Association Commissioning Committee.

JAELEM BHATE

Active in both classical and jazz genres, Jaelem Bhate is a conductor, composer and proponent of reinvention and accessibility and works to reimagine the role of instrumental music in the 21st century.  He was named to CBC’s hot 30 under 30 classical musicians in 2019 and is a board member of Orchestras Canada. As a conductor, he founded Symphony 21, an ensemble and registered charity focused on producing concerts in non-traditional spaces for non-traditional audiences while simultaneously breaking down barriers racial, gender and socio-economic. He was also name music director of the Vancouver Brass Collective in 2019. Guest engagements include the Vancouver and Winnipeg Symphony Orchestras along with invitations to Italy, Romania, Portugal and Bulgaria. An advocate for new music, he has conducted over 20 world premieres, the majority of them by diverse Canadian composers.  In the 2022/23 season as a conductor he recorded a new operetta by Canadian composer Katerina Gimon with Re:Naissance Opera and a studio album with the Vancouver Brass Collective.  As a composer, his works have been performed by the Vancouver and Victoria Symphonies as well as many chamber ensembles and soloists.  In the jazz world he has release two albums with the Jaelem Bhate Jazz Orchestra on the edge and Carmen, a reimagining of Bizet’s opera for jazz ensemble.  on the edge won the 2020 Julian Award for emerging Canadian jazz excellence and spent two weeks at the top of the EarShot national jazz charts. Recent commissions include the Canadian National Jazz Orchestra, Redshift Music and the New Brunswick Youth Symphony. A sessional lecturer in conducting at the University of British Columbia, Jaelem holds a MMus in orchestral conducting and BMus in percussion performance from UBC.

NICHOLAS URQUHART

works as a conductor, double bassist, composer, arranger, and music educator. He studied Double Bass at the Victoria Academy of Music and the University of Victoria, earning his Bachelor’s in Music with distinction. There he was mentored by Janos Sandor and Yariv Aloni in orchestral conducting. Nicholas continued his conducting studies with Ken Hsieh, Bujar Llapaj and Jin Zhang. He also continued Double Bass studies with the principal double bass of the VSO, Ken Freidman. In addition, Nicholas has a degree in music education from UBC and a Master’s degree from Acadia University in music curriculum and pedagogy. Nicholas has served as Assistant Conductor for the Vancouver Philharmonic and the Canada Day Pops Orchestra as well as the programming director and President of the West Coast Symphony.  He has directed numerous ensembles, including, the West Coast Symphony, Vancouver Philharmonic, Sunshine Coast Symphony, UVic Chamber Orchestra (a group which he founded), BCMEA Honour Orchestra, A Little Night Music Orchestra, Kabok Chamber Strings, Elgar Strings, St. James Academy Orchestra, Lord Byng Symphony Orchestra, Plastic Acid Chamber Strings and full orchestra, Canada Day Pops Orchestra, Surrey Youth Orchestra, I Musici Sushi Orchestra and New Westminster Symphony.  When not directing orchestras, he continues to perform as a freelance double bassist in chamber ensembles, orchestras, operas, and musicals. He also sits on the board of the IBB (Instruments Beyond Borders), a foundation dedicated to putting instruments in the hands of in need youth in Vancouver and worldwide (most notably in Paraguay). Nicholas is a clinician with the Vancouver and Burnaby school boards and has been an adjudicator for the Kiwanis International Music Festival. He is the Strings Director of one of the largest public-school strings programs in B.C, at Killarney Secondary School (VSB) and has been the music director of the Strings with West Vancouver Youth Band Society since 2012.