Meet the Composer
Bruce Ronkin is Professor of Music and Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education at Northeastern University. He served as chair of Northeastern’s Music Department from 1998-2002 and was the director of the Music Department’s Music Industry program from 1991-2002. Since 2002 he has served as Associate Dean, Senior Associate Dean, and Interim Dean for the College of Arts & Sciences. He has previously taught at the University of Massachusetts-Lowell, Lehigh University, and Rowan University.

Dr. Ronkin earned the Bachelor of Music degree at the Eastman School of Music, the Master of Music degree at Indiana University, and the Doctor of Musical Arts degree at the University of Maryland. He has studied saxophone with Reginald Jackson, William Osseck, Ramon Ricker, and Eugene Rousseau. In recent years, Dr. Ronkin has become widely known as a pioneering specialist on the Wind Synthesizer, an electronic wind instrument. He sits on the board of the Music and Entertainment Industry Educators Association, has served as President of the International Wind Synthesis Association, and as Vice President of the North American Saxophone Alliance. Ronkin has extensive experience as a solo artist and as an ensemble performer. Appearances include the Schomburg Center in New York City, the Currier Museum, the New England Conservatory, Dartmouth College, Tufts University, the University of Florida, Shenandoah University, West Virginia University, the University of Georgia, the Etats Généraux Mondiaux du Saxophone in Angers, France, and several World Saxophone Congresses around the globe.

Bruce Ronkin has published articles in the Saxophone Symposium, the Saxophone Journal, and the MEIEA Journal (Music and Entertainment Industry Educators Association). Since 2002 he has served as editor of the MEIEA Journal. He is the author of Londeix Guide to the Saxophone Repertoire (1844-2012). Ronkin’s two-volume work, The Orchestral Saxophonist, co-authored with Robert Frascotti, is a required text at universities and conservatories throughout the world.
Benjamín Gutiérrez was born in San José, Costa Rica on January 3rd, 1937. At a very young age he began his musical studies with his maternal grandmother, the daughter of Pilar Jiménez, a well known cellist and composer within Costa Rica. In 1953 he entered the Conservatory of Music at the University of Costa Rica where he studied piano with Miguel Angel Quesada. He left to Guatemala in 1957, after receiving a grant, and studied piano and composition with Augusto Adenois at the Conservatorio Nacional de Música de Guatemala.

Mr. Gutiérrez continued his musical studies at the New England Conservatory of Boston where he obtained a Master of Music degree in 1960. In 1961 he continued his composition studies in Aspen, Colorado with the French composer Darius Milhaud, and in Ann Arbor, Michigan with Ross Lee Finney.

In 1965, by means of a grant, Gutiérrez was able to study at the Latin American Center for Music Study of the Torcuato Di Tella Institute of Buenos Aires, Argentina. There he was to earn the Degree of Composer at the highest level based on his studies of orchestration and composition with the renowned composer Alberto Ginastera.

Mr. Gutiérrez resides in Jan José, Costa Rica.
Brendan Collins is the Composer-in-Residence at Barker College in Sydney Australia and has also served as the official composer for the Sydney Youth Orchestra. Prior to these appointments, Brendan was for eleven years the Associate Principal trombonist with Opera Australia, the resident orchestra at the Sydney Opera House.

As a composer he has been commissioned to write works for the International Trumpet Guild Conference of 2010, The Melbourne International Festival of Brass, Steve Rosse (Sydney Symphony Orchestra), Hidehiro Fujito (Singapore Symphony Orchestra), Scott Kinmont (Sydney Symphony Orchestra) and the masterful trumpet player, David Hickman (Arizona State University). In recent times his music has been performed by the International jazz trumpet artist, Andrea Tofanelli and the highly acclaimed trumpet player, Dr John Irish (Angelo State University).
Yu Jianfang is the conductor and composer working as China's first level conductor in the band of the Chinese People's Liberation Army. Also he is the member of the Chinese Musicians Association and the Chinese Music Copyright Association.Chinese Band Academic society director.

In 1970, Yu was admitted into the band of Chinese People's Liberation Army studying playing the saxophone. In 1978, he began studying conducting music theory and piano with Chinese famous conductors and music theorists.

Jianfang has conducted concerts and anthems for many world leaders such as Britain Queen Elizabeth, Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, United States' Presidents Jimmy Carter, and President Obama.
Michael Vertoske, a native of Elmira, New York, received his Bachelor of Music Education and Master of Music degree from Ithaca College.

Mr. Vertoske teaches on the faculty at Clarence Middle School in Clarence, New York, where he directs CMS Sixth Grade Band. His duties also include teaching brass and woodwind lessons and directing the Clarence Middle School Jazz Ensemble.

In addition to teaching, Vertoske also composes and arranges music for concert band, jazz ensemble and brass quintet. His works for both young and advanced concert band are published by various music publishers. Vertoske's compositions have been performed at several prestigious venues, such as the Midwest International Band and Orchestra Clinic, the New York State Band Directors Association (NYSBDA) Symposium and the New York State School Music Association (NYSSMA) Conference.
Richard Crosby was born in Ashland, Ohio and raised in Largo, Florida. He holds the Bachelor of Music degree in Music Education (1979), the Master of Music degree in Piano and Wind Conducting (1981) and the Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Piano (1990) from the University of Cincinnati's College-Conservatory of Music. His principal piano teachers at CCM were John Meretta and Richard Morris, and his principal conducting training was with John Leman and Terry Milligan.

Dr. Crosby was appointed to the faculty of Eastern Kentucky University in 1986 where he serves as Professor of Music teaching piano and music history. He is an active adjudicator. Dr. Crosby also serves as Director of the Stephen Collins Foster Piano Camps, held every summer at EKU.

Dr. Crosby's compact disc/cassette recording, "An American Portrait," released in 1994, features works of Charles Griffes, Amy Beach, William Grant Still, David Guion, Louis Moreau Gottschalk, Lee Hoiby and George Gershwin. This disc has since been re- released on the Capstone Record label and is being re-released on the PARMA label.

Dr. Crosby's works are published by Southern Music, Prairie Dawg, Press, TRN, and Northeastern Music Publications, Inc.
Jerry Nowak is Professor Emeritus of Bucks County Community College in Newtown, Pennsylvania. He has over eleven hundred published arrangements and compositions for instrumental and vocal ensembles. He is the co-author of Conducting the Music, Not the Musicians and The Art of Expressive Playing bith published by Carl Fischer.

His famous teachers include: Lucien Cailliet (composition and orchestration), Charles Russo (Clarinet), and Herbert Pate (voice).

He is a founding member of both the Philadelphia and New Jersey Saxophone Quartets and has conducted professional recordings sessions in New York, Philadelphia, Washington D. C. and London, England.

In January 2011, he completed teaching his 26th consecutive yearly two-week conducting course in Sydney, Australia.
Andrew F. Poor was appointed as the Associate Director of Bands at Fayette County High School in fall of 2010. In addition, he has served on the part-time faculty of the Schwob School of Music at Columbus State University beginning in the fall of 2006 as a member of the Music Education Department. Dr. Poor holds the Doctor of Music Education degree as well as the Master of Music degree in Trumpet Performance from the University of Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music, Cincinnati, Ohio, and he previously received the Bachelor of Music Education degree (High Honors) from the University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida. Dr. Poor has been composing and arranging for concert bands and marching bands for many years with over 60 compositions and arrangements to his name. His published arrangements and compositions appear in the catalogs of C.L. Barnhouse, Northeastern Music Publications, and Eighth Note Music. In addition, he served for six years (2000-2005) as the Brass Caption Chair for the Drum Corps International Judge Administration Team, and has also worked as a music adjudicator for G.M.E.A, Drum Corps Midwest, Bands of America, and Winter Guard International, having judging numerous Regional, National and World Championships for these organizations. Dr. Poor has presented at numerous clinics and conferences including, The 2009 Midwest Clinic, Georgia Music Educators Association, Ohio Music Educators, and Florida Music Educators, and The Spirit Camps. His professional affiliations include, Phi Beta Mu, Phi Mu Alpha, GMEA, MENC, and International Trumpet Guild. He is on the professional in-service faculty of the Spirit Camp. This summer he will be joining the instructional staff of the Blue Stars Drum and Bugle Corps as a brass/music consultant.
Chris M. Bernotas holds a BM from William Paterson University in New Jersey and has been an Instrumental Music Teacher at Mountain Lakes High School in Mountain Lakes, NJ for many years. He conducts the Wind Ensemble, Concert Band, Pep Band, Jazz Band and Pit Orchestra. Mr. Bernotas is also the former director of the William Paterson University Pep Band.

Mr. Bernotas has served the North Jersey Area Band as President and Vice president and was the NJAB Symphonic Band conductor in 2006. He has also served on the executive board for the New Jersey School Music Association, Region I and has worked with the NJ All-State Band as a manager. Mr. Bernotas was recognized as "Educator of the Year" in 2005 and has been listed several times in Who's Who Among American Teachers. Mr. Bernotas has also been a member of the Hanover Wind Symphony, a prominent community concert band in New Jersey.

Mr. Bernotas is an active composer of concert band music and has served as an arranger for a number of bands and drum corps throughout the New York/New Jersey area. He has also adjudicated for DCI, BOA and several state marching band championships throughout the United States. His professional affiliations include MENC, ASCAP, NBA, and NJMEA. Mr. Bernotas' music is published with Northeastern Music Publications, Alfred Publications, Daehn Publications, TRN Music Publishing,and Bandworks Publications.

Mr. Bernotas resides in New Jersey with his wife Cristina and 3 kids.
Kevin Lepper is Director of Applied Studies and Assistant Professor of Percussion at VanderCook College of Music in Chicago, Illinois. He is also an active free-lance percussionist/educator in the Chicago area. A wide range of experiences, including El Paso Symphony, Cavaliers Drum and Bugle Corps, The Chautauqua Ensemble (world music), That Memorial Ragtime Marimba Band, and many commercial recording sessions, allow Mr. Lepper to be classified as a "total percussionist". He is a member of Phi Mu Alpha fraternity and has numerous published works in the marching band medium. Through his company (Advantage Network) he has published a series of educationally-based percussion ensembles and three volumes of Boomwhackers ensembles written specifically for the junior high school and beginning high school performer. Kevin Lepper is a Yamaha Performing Artist.
Judith Katz Judith Katz was born in New York City and is a product of the New York City School system. After graduating from the famous High School of Performing Arts, she attended Manhattan School of Music, where she earned a Bachelor of Music Degree in Performance on the flute and later on, a Master of Music Degree in Education. Her flute studies were with Harold Bennett, James Politis and Herbert Levy.

Judith has vast experience performing with local New York concert bands, playing both flute and piccolo. She also maintains an extensive teaching schedule which divides her time between private and public school teaching. Judith is a full-time New York City High School teacher in Queens, NY. She is also the Center Director of the long-established Salute to Music Program, where she conducts the most talented Queens middle school students. In addition, Ms. Katz is a member of the adjunct teaching faculty of Hunter College, where she teaches an introductory woodwind course to music education majors.
Freddie Hill Born in London in 1948, Frederick (Freddie, Fred) Rowland Hill is a jazz trumpeter. He holds a Bachelor of Music degree with Honours from Cardiff University and a Diploma of Education from Sydney Teachers' College. He attended the Jazz Summer Schools held in South Wales in 1968, 1969 and 1970, and the Conservatorium Jazz Clinics in Sydney in 1980, 1981 and 1982.

In 1976 Hill founded an eleven-piece contemporary jazz orchestra, Brassband Extraordinaire, which played original compositions and arrangements of music by composers such as Erik Satie and Thelonious Monk. Hill has performed as a jazz trumpeter with bands such as the Gaiety Swing Band (now called the Shawnuff Swing Band), the Southern Hemisphere Big Band, Saturn Doll, and The Hot Club of Bondi. He has been a private teacher of music, and has also taught instrumental and class music for the NSW Department of Education since 1980.

Freddie Hill composes in both jazz and classical styles, and has composed an opera, The Circumnavigator, to his own libretto.

Hill became an Australian citizen in 1992 and has lived in the Campbelltown area since 1994 with his wife Christine, a photo-journalist and artist.
 
Robert Reck is active as a composer, arranger, educator, and performer in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He performs as a vocalist and instrumentalist in church and secular settings and in musical theater productions. He plays trombone and sings with the Tulsa Klezmer Band and freelances in jazz groups on bass guitar and string bass.

He began his musical career in Muskogee, Oklahoma, where he was All-State in choir in his junior year and All-State in band his Senior year. In between his junior and senior year he toured the USA and Europe with America's Youth in Concert, performing in Carnegie Hall, Royal Albert Hall, and the White House.

Robert currently teaches middle school string orchestra in the Broken Arrow, Oklahoma schools. He directs the church orchestra and the brass ensemble at the Boston Avenue Methodist church in Tulsa, where his compositions and arrangements are frequently performed. He has served as President of the Oklahoma Bandmasters Association.

Rick DeJonge is a graduate of the Scoring for Motion Pictures and Television Program from USC and holds a Master's of Art and Bachelor's of Music from Western Michigan University. Rick has been writing music for orchestra and wind ensemble for over 20 years and for the Boston Brass the last 4 years. Many of Mr. DeJonge's symphonic works have been preformed at many music education conferences including the National MENC, Midwest Clinic, Ohio MEA, CBDA, Colorado MEA, Western MENC, Eastern MENC, South Carolina MEA, Georgia MEA, the American Bandmasters Association, and the Western International Band Clinic. Rick has had premieres with The Annapolis Symphony, Elkhart Symphony, New Jersey Pops Orchestra, Williamsport Symphony, Capital University, Indiana State University, California State Long Beach, and The Air Force Band of the Golden West. Rick worked with composers on television promos including shows like "Beautiful People", "Lost", "The West Wing" and "CSI Miami". As a conductor, Rick has conducted his own scores at Paramount Studios, Fox Studios, and Firehouse Studios in Pasadena, California. Currently living in Austin, Texas, DeJonge is one of the most sought after composers for original music for both film and video games in the area. DeJonge just finished recording the score for the action film "Fighting With Anger" with Executive Producer, Willie Nelson and has written two songs for the film that Willie Nelson recently recorded. Rick also composed the music and did the sound design for the current popular Nintendo DS game "Konductra" and is currently doing music and sound design for a new Nintendo Wii game developed by OEFun Inc.
Aaron Strang earned his Bachelor of Music degree in Instrumental Music Education from the University of Minnesota, Duluth in 1996. He composed shows for the high school drumline in Foley, Minnesota from 1998 - 2000, including their state championship show, Shenanigans. His piece Suite Dreams won the 2000 Minnesota Band Directors Association composition contest and was premiered that same year at the Minnesota State Music Convention. He is a trombonist and composer in the Big Time Jazz Orchestra based in Duluth, Minnesota, who recently recorded five of his works on their latest CD entitled Fanfare From Some Flounder? He currently lives with his wife and son in Webster, Wisconsin.
Dr. Andrew Shanefield serves as both an instrumental music teacher for the School District of Haverford Township (PA) and as a faculty member in the Department of Music and Dance at Swarthmore College.

Drew maintains a busy schedule as a composer and arranger for ensembles across the United States, Europe and Japan. Recent commission projects include compositions for the University of Houston, Eastern Kentucky University, Swarthmore College Jazz Ensemble, the Vivace Brass Band of Tokyo, Japan as well as numerous public school commissions.

Drew graduated magna cum laude from New York University in 1992. He received a Masters in Music Education degree from Queens College, a Masters in Music Performance from West Chester University, and a Doctorate in Higher Education from Widener University.

He is a member of the American Society of Composers Authors and Publishers (ASCAP). Additionally, Drew is a performing artist/clinician for Yamaha band instruments and is an adjudicator/clinician for Bands of America/Music for All.

In 2008, Drew was appointed brass arranger for the Cavaliers Drum and Bugle Corps of Illinois. He is also the composer and arranger for the Pride of Soka Drum and Bugle Corps of Japan. He has held similar posts for the Bluecoats, Crossmen, Carolina Crown and Cadets Drum and Bugle Corps.

Drew and his family reside in suburban Philadelphia, PA. Please feel free to visit http://www.drewshanefield.com.
Thomas Rudolph, Ed. D. is the Director of Music for Haverford School District, in Havertown, Pennsylvania and an adjunct Assistant Professor at The University of the Arts. He teaches technology courses at Berklee College of Music, Central Connecticut State University, and Villanova University. Tom is the president of TI:ME, the Technology Institute for Music Educators. His books include Sibelius: A Comprehensive Guide, Finale An Easy Guide to Music Notation, Recording in the Digital World, and Teaching Music With Technology. His articles have appeared in the Music Educators Journal, The Instrumentalist, Jazz Educator Journal, Downbeat Magazine, and Music Education Technology Magazine. Rudolph's compositions for band are published by Neil A. Kjos Music Publications and Northeastern Music Publications.
Raul Sosa Ornelas (November 6, 1941 - September 3, 2008) was a Professor of trumpet and music theory at Lamar where he performed with the Lamar Brass Quintet. He was also principal trumpet with the Symphony of Southeast Texas and had performed with the Corpus Christi, Lake Charles, Meridian, and Rapides Symphony Orchestras. Recently, he completed a southern and midwestern tour with Keith Brion and The New Sousa Band as principal trumpet. Dr. Ornelas had been an active member of the International Trumpet Guild for several years. In 1987, he served as chairman of the ITG Jazz competition and in 1988, he chaired a five-member committee to elect ITG officers for the 1989-1991 term. He also served as chairman of the International Trumpet Guild Scholarship Competition in 1994. Dr. Ornelas had performed in several of the International Trumpet Guild conferences held throughout the country, most recently at the conference in Evansville, Indiana. The Lamar Trumpet Ensemble has performed at three conferences: in 1988, at the University of North Texas in Denton; in 1993 at the University of Akron in Akron, Ohio; and in 2001 at the University of Evansville in Evansville, Indiana. Dr. Ornelas held degrees from the University of Texas, McNeese University, and The University of Southern Mississippi.
Pianist and composer, Patrick Stoyanovich, brings a rich musical experience to contemporary culture. Educated from age nine as a pianist and horn player, Mr. Stoyanovich was honored numerous times as outstanding soloist while still a teenager and began to perform as a professional pianist by age fourteen. Composition developed innately from his experiences as a performer and improviser. His formal education began at The University of Michigan School of Music graduating with a Bachelor's of Arts specializing in Piano Performance. He was awarded a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship in Jazz studying with noted New York City jazz pianist Richard Beirach. During this time, Mr. Stoyanovich also won the international competition: John W. Work III Prize for Composition. Mr. Stoyanovich continued his education at Yale University School of Music as a student of Jacob Druckman and was awarded the Irving Gilmore Fellowship for the Outstanding Composition Student and the John Day Jackson Prize for Chamber Music. He graduated from Yale with the graduate degree of Master's of Composition with High Honors. For post-graduate work, Mr. Stoyanovich studied at Le Academie des Americaines Conservatoire de Musique in Fontainebleau, France on a composition scholarship. There, he had the honor of studying in a select composition seminar lead by noted American musician Leonard Bernstein. Mr. Stoyanovich's composition teachers include three Pulitzer Prize winners: William Bolcom, Jacob Druckman and Leslie Basset as well as other noted American musicians such as Gunther Schuller. The orchestral compositions of Stoyanovich have been performed by a number of orchestras including the Pacific Symphony Orchestra (CA), Florida Orchestra (FL), Spokane Symphony Orchestra (WA), Fresno Philharmonic Orchestra (CA), Northwest Chamber Orchestra (WA), Bremerton Symphony Association (WA), Champlain Valley Symphony Orchestra (NY), Helena Symphony Orchestra (MT) and Butte Symphony Association (MT). His chamber and solo works have been performed in Canterbury, England's English Double Reed Society International Festival, on the Hungarian National Radio, at Carnegie Mellon University and on numerous recitals around our country from New Haven, CT to Los Angeles, CA. Patrick lives on Bainbridge Island, WA with his wife, Elizabeth (who is a conductor and advocate of his works) and their two daughters: Antonia Barbara and Sophia Isabelle. He is the co-owner of Metro City Music with a website at www.metro-citymusic.com.
Rob Grice's compositions appear on state, national and international contest music lists and have been performed at the Midwest Clinic as well as state and regional clinics/conventions. His music was selected for Japan's JVC Victor Entertainment BRN Compact Disc Series, a standard interpretive reference source for Japan's school music programs.

Mr. Grice is a native of southern Alabama, where he received his B.M.E. and M.S. degree from Troy State University and presently teaches in the Enterprise City School System and Enterprise-Ozark Community College in Enterprise Alabama. An outstanding music educator, he was named Teacher of the Year for the Enterprise City. He was recently featured in Wiregrass Living magazine and received the WDHN-TV Golden Apple Award for his achievements in the field of education.

www.robgrice.com
Gerald J. Sebesky Gerald J. Sebesky Born 1941. Gerald Sebesky studied music and received his Bachelor of Music degree from Manhattan School of Music in 1962, his Master of Arts degree from Teachers College, Columbia University in 1976, did post graduate studies at: Florida State University, University of Hartford, Rutgers University, University of Miami, Montclair University, University of Hawaii, and University of Buffalo.

Gerald Sebesky has taught at both the grade school and university level. He is a lecturer and clinician and presents these events at numerous music conventions and educational seminars throughout the U. S., Canada, and England.

Mr. Sebesky plays the trombone and bass. He is published by many publishing companies and has written for all genre of music. Several of his books are in print. He also wrote the excerpt music for the 1991 motion picture, "Waiting For The Light" starring Shirley MacLaine.
Robert M. Geisler (1926-2003) Robert Geisler was born and raised in San Antonio, Texas, where he resides today. He served in the Carrier Aircraft Service Unit #65 in World War II. Upon returning home, he received a Bachelor of Music Degree and Master of Administration from Trinity University. He also played with the San Antonio Symphony and conducted his own dance band.

Robert Geisler is a Charter Member of the Texas BandMaster's Association and is a Past President. He was elected to the Association of School Band Directors in 1962. In 1992, he was elected to the Phil Beta Mu Texas Band Director Hall of Fame.

Mr. Geisler served as Educational Director and Band Manager of Southern Music Company in San Antonio until his retirement just a few years ago.
Ed Roseman is the author, publisher, and primary distributor of the well-loved books "Edly's Music Theory for Practical People" and "Edly Paints the Ivories Blue." The theory book is used by individuals and high school, college, and community theory classes throughout the United States. He was music columnist for the Maine Times in 1992, and his article "Teach Your Children Well" was published in the 1/93 issue of Keyboard magazine as a guest editorial.

He is also a composer of many styles of music, some of which incorporate world music elements, and has written for diverse acoustic ensembles as well as for synthesizers. Commercially, his music can be heard on videos for clients such as Fablevision Animation Studios and Motorola Codex. His spirited and quirky "Uncle Stumble's Dance" and "Sweedler's Dance" were premiered by the Community Orchestra of the Portland Symphony in 1999.

He has performed extensively as a solo multi-instrumentalist in California and elsewhere, as well as with the folk music show band Shanachie. He played on, produced, and arranged much of the material for (Klezmer band) the Casco Bay Tummlers' debut CD.

He teaches privately at his studio in Kennebunkport, Maine, and is currently teaching the York County Regional Fine Arts Gifted and Talented Composition and Arranging Class.

Having attended the Berklee College of Music and the University of Michigan at Interlochen, he received his B.A. with honors in music from Wesleyan University. Major areas of study included Western classical and jazz composition and theory, Ghanaian drumming, and solkattu (South Indian percussion solfege), as well as forays into Celtic and Chinese musics. He is an overtone singer, and plays bones, among other instruments.
Randy Navarre received his Bachelor of Music degree from Stephen F. Austin State University, in Nacogdoches, Texas, in 1973, his Master of Music degree from Temple University, in Philadelphia, PA, in 1981, and his Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University of Maryland, in College Park, Maryland, in 1989. His major areas of study were saxophone and composition. In addition to playing the saxophone, Dr. Navarre also plays the wind controller.

Dr. Navarre began his teaching career in 1973, in the School District of Philadelphia. His experience ranges from developing instrumental music programs at the grade school level through teaching music majors in college.

Randy Navarre is the originator and director of Northeastern Music Programs, an organization that provides general and instrumental music programs to schools. He is also the director and editor of Northeastern Music Publications.

Dr. Navarre is the author of the "Instrumental Music Teacher's Survival Kit," a step-by-step guide to teaching all of the band instruments. Originally published by Prentice Hall, this book is now distributed by Northeaster Music Publications, Inc.
Articles written by Dr. Navarre are published in The Saxophone Journal, The Instrumentalist, and BandWorld magazines. The articles cover topics such as interviews, recruiting students for the band, teaching the various band instruments, and tips for improving skills as a band director.

Several compositions of Dr. Navarre's are published, and his music is performed throughout the United States, Europe, Asia, and Australia.

Dr. Navarre performs as a classical saxophonist. He performs in concerts and festivals throughout the United States and Canada.

The Selmer Company, Inc. co-sponsors clinics at which Dr. Navarre instructs students, teachers, and professionals. These clinics include instructions on developing young musicians and master classes for improving musicianship and professionalism.

Dr. Navarre also provides clinics on teaching all beginning instruments, recruiting, developing the inner ear, and score reading. These clinics are given in colleges, state music educators' conferences, music stores/clinics, and Province meetings in Canada.
Mandy Hegvik is a 1989 Graduate of West Chester University, Pennsylvania where she earned the degrees of B.S. in Music Education and a Master of Music in Saxophone Performance. She taught elementary, middle school and high school levels of band and played in the saxophone quartet "Saxophonique" until moving to the Seattle area in 1998 where she is now director of an award winning choir and orchestra program at Canyon Park Junior High School.
Robert W. Lowden, an internationally known arranger and composer, was one of the best known modern day arrangers for orchestra, bands, and jazz bands. His works not only encompasses professional orchestras, film, and recordings, but he was a major contributor of musical arrangements for American's college and high school performers. Mr. Lowden was the chief arranger for over 100 recordings of "101 STRINGS." He was also in demand as a clinician and adjudicator of instrumental Festivals. Mr. Lowden was born on October 23, 1920 and died October 30, 1998.
J. Wayne Dyess is Professor of Music and Director of Jazz Studies at Lamar University in Beaumont, Texas, a position he has held since 1977. Dyess came to Lamar directly out of the U.S. Navy Band, teaching as an Adjunct Instructor of Trombone from 1975 to 1977. He was also the director of the sweepstakes Nederland Junior High Band, and the IAJE award-winning Nederland High School Jazz Ensemble during those same years. During his tenure at Lamar, Dyess has served as Associate Director of Bands, director of the Concert Band, director of the 300 piece BIG RED Marching Band ("The Grandest Band in the Land"), director of the highly acclaimed LU Pep Band and the award winning Lamar University jazz bands 'A' and 'B'. He has also taught music education courses, oversees the Music Department's computer lab and recording studio, and teaches graduate courses as called upon. Dyess is also the founder and leader of a Lamar University alumni big band, known around Southeast Texas as The Night & Day Orchestra. http://www.ndotex.com

Wayne continues to tour our nation's towns and cities with Keith Brion and his New Sousa Band. Mr. Brion appears throughout the world as a guest conductor and is considered by many to be the foremost authority on John Phillip Sousa, along with historian and author Paul Bierley. Mr. Brion asked Mr. Dyess to join the band after hearing him play Arthur Pryor's "Blue Bells of Scotland" with the Symphony of Southeast Texas in 1993. Wayne's first appearance with the New Sousa Band was that same year in Branson, Missouri where the band performed in the Christy Lane Theatre for a one week run. Dyess has since toured from L.A. to Orlando and Vermont to New Orleans with the band, but a tour highlight was the 3 week tour of Japan made in August 1996. http://www.newsousaband.com

Dyess has performed with many famous conductors, including Frederick Fennell, Karel Husa, Leonard Slatkin, Donald Stauffer, Anthony Mitchell, Arnold Gabriel, Arthur Fiedler, Kenneth G. Bloomquist, and Harry Begian. As a free-lance musician, Dyess has performed with such jazz artists as Clark Terry, Doc Severinson, Tommy Newsom, Ed Shaughnessy, Tony Campise, Maynard Ferguson, as well as The Letterman, The Country Gentlemen, Roger Williams, Christy Lane, B.J. Thomas, The Four Tops, and The Temptations, to name a few.

Wayne Dyess earned degrees from Stephen F. Austin State University (Nacogdoches, Texas), The Catholic University (Washington, D.C.), and the University of Houston (Houston, Texas). He has completed additional graduate work at the University of Texas, in Austin.

 
Gaston Darrell Holt, August 30, 1941 - September 7, 2000

Darrell Holt was an Associate Professor of music at Stephen F. Austin State University, in Nacogdoches, Texas, where he taught various jazz courses, arranging, and music theory from 1968 to fall, 2000. He was a nationally recognized jazz instrumental and vocal clinician during most of his life. Mr. Holt performed extensive work in recording studios as a conductor, arranger, composer, and performer, having produced more than forty albums. His most recent studio work was in Nashville for a recently released CD for young country music artist, Lee Ann Rimes. As a performer, he was an accomplished pianist, vocalist and trumpeter. He worked with such nationally recognized entertainers as Rich Little, Bob Hope, and B.J. Thomas. Darrell Holt's works have been performed by the San Antonio, Dallas, and Nashville Symphonies, as well as the Symphony of Southeast Texas, and the Kingwood Pops. He has received numerous commissions, including a grant from the National Endowment of the Arts. Darrell Holt passed away from heart complications on September 7, 2000 at Herman Hospital in Houston, Texas.
Larry McKenna is one of the leading jazz saxophonists in America. He is an instructor of jazz theory, harmony , and saxophone at Temple University, West Chester University, and Community College of Philadelphia.. Larry McKenna has performed as soloist with jazz stars such as Woody Herman, Clark Terry, Jon Faddis, Buddy DeFranco, Rosemary Clooney, Tony Bennett, and many more. His CD, My Shining Hour (music of Harold Arlen), is on EPE Records, distributed by BMG Music Canada Inc. It has received critical acclaim from reviewers all across the United States and Canada. Mr. McKenna can be heard on other CD's: Don Glanden, Sudden Life (Encounter Records); Al Raymond & Buddy DeFranco, Born To Swing (Hindsight Records), and Something Big; Woody Herman, Crown Royal (Laserlight Records). Music arranged by Larry McKenna has been played on the Tonight Show, with Johnny Carson, and in the movie Birdy, starring Nicholas Cage, in which he played and appeared. Mr. McKenna resides in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Lawrence Moss Composer, Professor and Director of Composition, University of Maryland College Park (1969-present); Assistant Professor, Yale University (1959-68); awarded two Guggenheim Fellowships (1959 & 1968); Distinguished Scholar/Teacher Award, University of Maryland (1982); Composer in Residence, Rockefeller Center, Bellagio, Italy (1986); Creative and Performing Arts Awards, University of Maryland (1970, 1984, 1994); Dr. Moss has collaborated with many diverse artist, including internationally renowned singers Phyllis Bryn-Julson and George Shirley. His Dawn to Dawn, a work for orchestra and two soloist, will be premiered by John Shirley-Quirk and Sara Watkins with the Baton Rouge Symphony under John Paul in February, 1997.
Richard Rudin received his Bachelor and Master of Music degrees from Temple University. His major areas of study were theory and composition, and piano. He has performed regularly throughout the Eastern United States, playing a wide variety of styles: classical, jazz, pop, folk, and rock. Mr. Rudin has composed works in many different musical styles, including over 225 jazz and pop styles songs. His CD, Compositions (Distributed by NorthCountry Distributors-315-287-2853, Redwood, NY), features 13 original jazz compositions. A three and a half star review from the Philadelphia Inquirer calls Compositions a "luminous recording," "full of bravura moments," showing "a masterly use of color." Mr. Rudin has also composed electronic music, music for orchestra, chamber ensembles, solo piano, and has created scores for numerous industrial films. Mr. Rudin teaches piano, music theory, and composition privately. He is the founder and director of the Maplewood Music Studio in Philadelphia, PA.

Northeastern Music Pulications Inc.
P.O Box 517
Glenmoore, PA 19343
1-866-385-8446
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