Judges-INSTRUMENTAL
-
Dr. Terry Austin
April 12/13 - 2024
Terry Austin is Director of Bands and Professor of Music at Virginia Commonwealth University where he oversees all aspects of the band program and teaches courses in conducting, and music education. Under his leadership, the Virginia Commonwealth University Symphonic Wind Ensemble has earned a reputation for musical excellence and has been invited to perform at many professional conferences including the American Bandmasters Association, MENC (now NafME: The National Association for Music Education), the College Band Directors National Association, and the Virginia Music Educators Association.
He is an active guest conductor, clinician, and adjudicator and is published in numerous journals and is the general editor of The Journal of Band Research, A Repertoire Anthology (1964-1989) published by GIA. He is one of the regular guest conductors of the Musashino Academia Musicae Wind Ensemble in Tokyo. In 2016 he was appointed as Guest Professor of the Center of General Education of Guangdong University of Technology in Guangzhou, China.
Austin was the 78th President of the American Bandmasters Association. He is the chairman of the National Band Association/William D. Revelli Memorial Band Composition Contest, chairman of the Bandworld/John Philip Sousa Foundation Legion of Honor, a member of the Board of Directors of the John Philip Sousa Foundation, and a past board member of the National Band Association, and the Southern Division of MENC (NafME). He is a member of the College Band Directors National Association, Pi Kappa Lambda, Phi Beta Mu, and an honorary member of Kappa Kappa Psi. He is a past-president of the Virginia Music Educators Association.
Dr. Austin is included in Who’s Who In America, Who’s Who in Fine Arts Higher Education, and Who’s Who Among America’s Teachers. He is a multiple recipient of the National Band Association’s Citation of Excellence and in 2005 he received the Virginia Commonwealth University School of the Arts Distinguished Achievement Award of Excellence.
He founded and conducts the Greater Richmond Youth Wind Ensemble, an ensemble of the finest high school musicians in the Richmond metropolitan area, and the Commonwealth Winds, an ensemble comprised of Richmond area teachers and professional performers. He was recently named as an Educational Clinician for the Conn-Selmer Division of Education.
Austin earned a Bachelor of Music Education from Indiana University, a Master of Arts in Music Education from the University of Hawaii, and a Doctor of Philosophy in Music Education from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He lives in Richmond with his wife, Tracia and twin sons Joshua and Seth.
-
colonel John R. Bourgeois
April 19/20 - 2024
John R. Bourgeois, USMC (Ret.), was 25th Director of "The President's Own" United States Marine Band. His acclaimed career spanned nine presidential administrations, from Presidents Dwight D. Eisenhower to Bill Clinton.
Bourgeois is a graduate of Loyola University in New Orleans. He joined the Marine Corps in 1956 and entered "The President's Own" as a French hornist and arranger in 1958. Named Director of the Marine Band in 1979, Bourgeois was promoted to colonel in June 1983. He retired from active duty July 11, 1996.
As Director of "The President's Own," Bourgeois was Music Advisor to the White House. He selected the musical program and directed the band on its traditional place of honor at the U.S. Capitol for four Presidential inaugurations, a Marine Band tradition dating to 1801. He regularly conducted the Marine Band and the Marine Chamber Orchestra at the White House, appearing there more frequently than any other musician in the nation.
Under Bourgeois' leadership the Marine Band presented its first overseas performances in history, traveling to the Netherlands in 1985 where "The President's Own" performed with the Marine Band of the Royal Netherlands Navy. In February 1990, Bourgeois led the Marine Band on an historic 18-day concert tour of the former Soviet Union as part of the first U.S.-U.S.S.R. Armed Forces band exchange. He also directed the Marine Band on 16 nationwide tours, bringing the music of "The President's Own" to the American people.
Bourgeois is past president of the American Bandmasters Association, chairman of the board and past president of the National Band Association, president of the John Philip Sousa Foundation, and the American vice president of the International Military Music Society. He has served on the boards of directors for the World Association for Symphonic Bands and Ensembles and the Association of Concert Bands. As Director of the Marine Band, Bourgeois was Music Director of Washington, D.C.'s prestigious Gridiron Club. He is a member of the Military Order of the Carabao, the Alfalfa Club, and the College Band Directors National Association.
Among the many honors and awards Bourgeois has received are the 1986 Phi Beta Mu Outstanding Bandmaster Award and the 1987 Kappa Kappa Psi Distinguished Service to Music Award for "contributions to the growth and development of modern college and university bands." In 1993, he was awarded the Midwest International Band and Orchestra Clinic Medal of Honor. Bourgeois was elected to the Academy of Wind and Percussion Artists of the National Band Association in 1988 and received the 1991 Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia National Citation "for service and dedication to music and country."
Bourgeois conducted his final concert as Director of "The President's Own," July 11, 1996 (the band's 198th birthday), at DAR Constitution Hall in Washington, D.C. More than 3,500 people, including prominent musicians and government dignitaries, attended the gala event. Former Presidents Clinton, George H. W. Bush, and Jimmy Carter, as well as former First Lady Nancy Reagan sent letters of gratitude and praise that were read at the concert.
Secretary of the Navy John H. Dalton hailed Bourgeois as "a national treasure" and presented him with the Distinguished Service Medal from President Clinton. Marine Corps Commandant General Charles C. Krulak compared Bourgeois to the band's 17th Director, John Philip Sousa, saying, "Our Corps has not only had John Philip Sousa, we have now had a John Bourgeois. His legacy will never be forgotten by the Marine Corps or our nation." The change of command received national attention, being covered by CNN, ABC, CBS, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and The Washington Post. ABC's Peter Jennings selected Bourgeois as the Evening News "Person of the Week."
After the change of command concert, The Washington Post's chief music critic wrote, "Bourgeois leaves his ensemble in terrific shape; indeed, it would be hard to imagine any band playing with greater vigor, precision, and timbral variety ... Washington is very generous with its standing ovations. But Bourgeois deserved each and every one he received last night."
Since retiring from the Marine Band, Bourgeois has been actively involved in music as a guest conductor, has published new editions of classic band compositions, and is a visiting professor in a chair endowed in his name at Loyola University in New Orleans.
Text courtesy of the USMC website
-
Paula A. Crider
April 19/20 - 2024
Following a distinguished 33 year teaching career, Professor Paula A. Crider continues to share her passion for making music through an active schedule as guest conductor, lecturer, clinician and adjudicator. She has enjoyed engagements in 47 states, Canada, Ireland, the United Kingdom,
France, Singapore, Italy, Germany, Spain, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Malaysia and Australia. Professor Crider has taught in the public schools at all levels, and holds the unique distinction of having been the first female in the state of Texas to serve as director of bands at a class 5-A high school. Her Crockett High School Bands in Austin, Texas enjoyed both state and national recognition for musical excellence on the concert stage, and were twice named Texas 5A State Marching Champions.
A tenured Full Professor at The University of Texas, Crider conducted the Symphony Band,
and was Director of the acclaimed University of Texas Longhorn Band. During her 17 year tenure,
she was twice accorded the “Eyes of Texas” Award for distinguished teaching. She continues to serve
as visiting guest professor at universities throughout the country. She has written numerous articles for The Instrumentalist, The Band Directorʼs Guide, the National Band Association Journal, and
has published manuals for Brass Techniques, Marching Band Methods and Instrumental Conducting. She is co-author for the Hal Leonard “Masterwork Studies” series, and author of The Composerʼs Legacy, Conductors on Conducting for Wind Band published by GIA.
Professor Crider has presented professional teacher seminars throughout the United States, and has served as Chief Adjudicator for the London New Year’s Day Parade. She is coordinator for the National Band Association Young Conductor/Mentor Program, is an Educational Consultant for Conn-Selmer, Inc., and serves on the Midwest International Band and Orchestra Board of Directors. Crider is a Past President of the National Band Association, and the American Bandmasterʼs Association. Awards and honors include the Tau Beta Sigma/Kappa Kappa Psi Distinguished Service to Music Award, the Sudler Legion of Merit, The Women Band Directorʼs International Rose, The Grainger Society Medal, the National Band Association AWAPA Award, 2004 Texas Bandmaster of the Year, Phi Beta Mu
Hall of Fame, and the Midwest Medal of Honor. In 2013, she was honored with a Doctor of Music Education Honoris Causa from the Vandercook School of Music. She was inducted into both the Women Band Directors International and the National Band Association Hall of Fame, and in 2015 was elected to the Phi Beta Mu International Hall of Fame.
-
Joseph Hermann
April 26/27 - 2024
Joseph Hermann is a recently retired Professor of Music and Director of Bands at Tennessee Technological University in Cookeville, Tennessee, where he served for twenty-eight years.
Before his appointment at Tennessee Tech in 1989, Hermann held conducting/director positions at the University of Arizona, Indiana University, and East Tennessee State University. Secondary school teaching includes directing the Dowling High School Band, West Des Moines, Iowa, and supervision of the Des Moines Catholic Instrumental Music Program. Under his leadership, the school music program grew to unprecedented enrollment. In addition, he served briefly as the Educational Director for Bands of America and McCormick’s Enterprises, a music corporation, in Chicago, Illinois.
Hermann is sought after as a conductor, adjudicator, and speaker and has presented clinics, workshops, and has conducted in over thirty states, in Canada, and throughout Japan. His symphonic bands have been featured ensembles at state, regional and national conventions; his interpretations have been broadcast on National Public Radio, and recordings of his ensembles have been issued as reference for music educators nationwide through music publishers and on the Mark Custom label. He is a proponent of new music for the winds, has premiered numerous works for wind band and remains an active participant in commissioning projects.
Committed to music education, Mr. Hermann has been instrumental in developing the Tennessee Conductors Symposium, a seminar for secondary-school instrumental and vocal conductors. This annual conference has grown to national proportions, features the United States' finest conductors as clinicians, and is uniformly committed to sustaining the teachers that conduct ensembles in the schools.
Hermann is a member of CBDNA, MENC, NBA, the Tennessee Bandmasters Association, has served as the editor for the New Music Reviews for the Tennessee Musician, and is a past board member of the Tennessee Music Educators Association. In 1996, Hermann was elected to the prestigious American Bandmasters Association and served as a member of its Board of Directors. He is a member of Phi Beta Mu, a past President of the PAC-10 Band Directors Association, a past Province Governor for Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia and holds honorary memberships inKappa Kappa Psi and Tau Beta Sigma. Mr. Hermann holds degrees from Drake University where he was a student of Professor Don R. Marcouiller. He and his wife, Kay, have two daughters and four grandchildren.
-
Thomas G. Leslie
April 19/20 - 2024
As Director of the Division of Wind Band Studies and Professor of Conducting, Thomas Leslie has earned recognition for high quality performances of the UNLV Bands. During his tenure at UNLV, his bands have received critical acclaim from members of the international music world. Such notables include composers Malcolm Arnold, Bruce Broughton, Eric Whitacre and Frank Ticheli; United States Marine Band Conductor Emeritus Colonel John Bourgeois, (Ret.); Colonel Lowell Graham, Conductor United States Air Force Band, (Ret.); United States Navy Band Conductor Commander John Pastin (Ret.); Dr. Harry Begian, Director Emeritus, University of Illinois; Grammy Award winning recording artists Eric Marienthal, Jimmy Haslip, Will Kennedy and Russell Ferrante.
Recognized for a fresh, interpretative style among collegiate wind orchestras, Thomas Leslie and the UNLV Wind Orchestra continue to excel in their commitment to commission new works by the next generation of the world’s finest young composers. This ensemble, under Professor Leslie’s baton, has premiered numerous pieces commissioned by UNLV, Professor Leslie and the Wind Orchestra. Professor Leslie has conducted, and recorded twenty compact disc recordings with the UNLV Wind Orchestra. They are: 1994 – The UNLV Wind Symphony; Ghost Train; Gawd$illa Eats Las Vegas; It Takes a Village; Monkey; No Mo’ Chalumeau; Chunk (all title tracks commissioned by Thomas Leslie); BCM… Saves the World; Bandanna, the complete Daron Hagen opera; 3 Steps Forward, the premiere disc in the new UNLV Wind Orchestra Series for Klavier Recordings; Spiritual Planet; 4 Flew Over the Hornet’s Nest; The Quest; Vegas Maximus; Concerto for Marienthal; Marquee Mojo; Lost Vegas; Ventanas; The Return; and 24K Gould, the newest release in the collection. All of these recordings have received noteworthy acclaim in professional journals in addition to high praise from colleagues throughout the world.
An adjudicator and conductor throughout the United States, Professor Leslie has also been invited to conduct performances and clinics internationally in Australia, Ireland, Japan, England, Scotland, France, Switzerland, Austria, Germany, and Canada. Under his direction, the UNLV Wind Orchestra has appeared as an invited performing group at the College Band Directors National Association Conference in March 1994, the Music Educators National Conference Biennial Convention in April 1998, the American Bandmasters Association National Convention in March 2001, and numerous state music educator conferences. The UNLV Wind Orchestra performed as the featured ensemble at the Hokkaido Band Association Clinic in Sapporo, Japan, in May 2002, and was featured in multiple performance tour at the La Croix Valmer International Music Festival in St, Tropez, France in June 2005 and June 2016. The UNLV College of Fine Arts awarded Professor Leslie the CFA Teacher of the Year Award in 2006.
Thomas Leslie received degrees in Music Education from The University of Iowa and Indiana State University. Elected in March of 2012, Professor Leslie served office as the 75th President of the prestigious American Bandmasters Association and currently serves as a member of the Past President’s Ad Hoc Committee. He was originally inducted to membership in 1997 and he hosted the National Convention of this very distinguished group in Las Vegas in March 2001. He continues to be a long-standing member of the College Band Directors National Association, and has served as Western Division Chair for the National Band Association. Professor Leslie currently serves on the Board of Directors for the John Philip Sousa Foundation.
-
dr. Stan Michalski
April 12/13 - 2024
Dr. Stan Michalski Jr., distinguished Emeritus Professor of Music and Conductor of Bands at Clarion University of Pennsylvania, forged a distinguished career spanning 55 years as a conductor, educator, performer and clinician-adjudicator and active member of national and international music associations.
Michalski received his B.S. degree cum laude in Music Education from the Pennsylvania State University in 1956. In 1958, he was awarded a Master of Education degree and in 1966 earned the Doctor of Education degree from the Pennsylvania State University. He was selected as the first candidate for the Band Conductor Assistantship Program under the mentorship of Dr. James W. Dunlop. Prior to his professorship at Clarion University, Dr. Michalski served as Supervisor of Music in the public schools of Harrisburg, PA from 1956 to 1958, and from 1959 to 1961, held a similar position in Mifflintown, PA.
He is the author of numerous published articles on music education, bands, and low brass, and was the founder and conductor of the Clarion University Summer Band and Jazz Workshops and Band Front Clinics. He was the first recipient of the Clarion University Student-Alumni Golden Eagle Award for his contributions in furthering the reputation and best image of Clarion University.
Dr. Michalski serves as Coordinator of Instrumental music for the Diocese of Charlotte, North Carolina and Adjunct Professor of Music at Winthrop University where he serves as Associate Conductor of the Carolina Wind Orchestra.
-
dr. Donald B. Ryder
Dr. Donald D. Ryder is the WJ Julian Professor of Bands and serves as Director of Bands at The University of Tennessee. His duties include directing the “Pride of the Southland” Marching Band, conducting the UT Wind Ensemble, and administrating the UT Band Program. In 1991, Dr. Ryder was recognized by the American School Band Directors Association as the top high school band director in the country and was presented with the coveted Stanbury Award. This award recognized Dr. Ryder for his outstanding levels of teaching achievements with the Troy High School Band in Ohio. In 2006, he received the “Distinguished Alumni Award” from Bowling Green State University. Dr. Ryder serves nationally as a clinician, adjudicator, and guest conductor in the field of instrumental music education and holds membership in many professional organizations such as the College Band Directors Association, National Band Association, American School Band Directors Association, Phi Beta Mu, East Tennessee School Band & Orchestra Association, and the Tennessee Music Educators Association.
-
dr. Richard Good
April 12/13 - 2024
Dr. Rick Good, is currently the Music Department Chair and Director of Bands at Auburn University. In addition he was recently appointed to a one-year term on the Board of Directors for the American Bandmasters Association. He was elected membership into the prestigious American Bandmasters Association, founded in 1929 by John Philip Sousa, in 2013. This association is comprised of only three hundred conductors and composers from the United States and Canada. He also serves as the Immediate Past-President of the National Band Association, the world’s largest organization for bands.
During his tenure at Auburn, Dr. Good was promoted to full Professor in October of 2009. Prior to that promotion he served for 12 years as Marching Band Director and Associate Professor of Low Brass. Under his direction in 2004, the AU Marching Band received the Sudler Trophy Award, the nation's highest and most coveted award for college and university marching bands. The marching band’s membership grew from 275 to 375, the biggest increase in membership to date and one of the largest marching bands in the history of Auburn University happened during his tenure as director.
-
dr. Michael Colburn
April 26/27 - 202
Michael Colburn joined the faculty of Butler University as Director of Bands in August, 2014. In addition to conducting the Butler University Wind Ensemble, he offers instruction in conducting, euphonium, and the history and literature of the wind band. Before coming to Butler, Colburn served for 27 years in “The President’s Own” United States Marine Band, where he held a variety of positions including Principal Euphonium (1991-1996), Assistant Director (1996-2004), and Director (2004-2014). As Director, Colburn was music advisor to White House and regularly conducted the Marine Band and Chamber Orchestra at the Executive Mansion and at Presidential Inaugurations. He was promoted to Colonel by President George W. Bush in a private Oval Office ceremony in 2007, and in 2014 he was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal by Gen James Amos, Commandant of the Marine Corps, and the Medal of Honor by the Midwest Band and Orchestra Clinic Board of Directors.
Colburn is an active guest conductor and clinician. He regularly conducts bands at numerous state and regional festivals and has guest conducted several professional and university bands and wind ensembles. Committed to the commissioning of new music, Colburn serves as the Co-Chair of the Sousa-ABA-Ostwald Award, a prize sponsored by the American Bandmasters Association in order to promote new works for wind band. He has served as an adjudicator for the Sudler Award, the Barlow Endowment, Music for All, and the Col. George S. Howard award for excellence in military bands. Colburn is a member of Washington D.C.’s prestigious Gridiron and Alfalfa Clubs, the American Bandmasters Association, and a board member of the John Philip Sousa Foundation and National Band Association.