Frederick Fennell was an internationally recognized conductor and one of the primary figures in promoting the Eastman Wind Ensemble as a performing group. He was also influential as a band pedagogue, and greatly affected the field of music education in the US and abroad. In Fennell's New York Times obituary, colleague Jerry F. Junkin was quoted as saying "He was arguably the most famous band conductor since John Philip Sousa."
William Francis McBeth was an American composer, whose wind band works are highly respected. His primary musical influences included Clifton Williams, Bernard Rogers, and Howard Hanson. The popularity of his works in the United States during the last half of the twentieth century led to many invitations and appearances as a guest conductor, where he often conducted the premiere performances of some of his compositions, the majority of which were commissioned. His conducting activities took him to forty-eight states, three Canadian provinces, Japan, and Australia; and for a number of years he was principal conductor of the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra in the capital of Little Rock. At one time, his "Double Pyramid Balance System" was a widely used pedagogical tool in the concert band world.
Timothy Mahr is a professor of music at St. Olaf College, and an American composer and conductor.
[James] Clifton Williams, Jr. was an American composer, pianist, French hornist, mellophonist, music theorist, conductor, and teacher. Williams was known by symphony patrons as a virtuoso French hornist with the symphony orchestras of Baton Rouge, New Orleans, Houston, Oklahoma City, Austin, and San Antonio. The young composer was honored with performances of Peace, A Tone Poem and A Southwestern Overture by the Houston and Oklahoma City symphony orchestras, respectively. He remains widely known as one of America's accomplished composers for the wind ensemble and band repertory.
David Sartor is an American composer and conductor of symphonic, chamber, and choral music. He is on the music faculties of Belmont University and Cumberland University, and is the founder and music director of the Parthenon Chamber Orchestra.
David Maslanka was an American composer of Polish descent who wrote for a variety of genres, including works for choir, wind ensemble, chamber music, and symphony orchestra.
Frank Ticheli is an American composer of orchestral, choral, chamber, and concert band works. He lives in Los Angeles, California, where he is a Professor of Composition at the University of Southern California. He was the Pacific Symphony's composer-in-residence from 1991 to 1998, composing numerous works for that orchestra. A number of his works are particularly notable, as they have become standards in concert band repertoire.
David R. Holsinger is an American composer and conductor writing primarily for concert band. Holsinger is a graduate of Hardin-Central High School in Hardin, Missouri, Central Methodist University, the University of Central Missouri, and the University of Kansas.
Eugene Migliaro Corporon is an American conductor, known for his work with wind ensembles and is a scholar of wind / band music repertoire. He is co-editor of two literature catalogs, Wind Ensemble/Band Repertoire (1984) and Wind Ensemble Literature (1975), as well as all ten volumes of the Teaching Music Through Performance in Band Series. He also co-hosted the Inner Game of Music videotape.
Jack Stamp is a North American wind ensemble conductor and composer. He has approximately sixty compositions available from Neil A. Kjos Music Company, including his most well-known piece, Gavorkna Fanfare, which was dedicated to Eugene Corporon. In 1993, he formed the Keystone Wind Ensemble, comprising students, alumni and professors at Indiana University of Pennsylvania, which has been recorded on 16 albums.
Eric Thomas Knechtges, DM is an American composer. He has written works for a wide variety of performing mediums including: concert band, orchestra, a cappella choir, and chamber ensembles.
Dr. Timothy Brett Rhea is Director of Bands and Music Activities at Texas A&M University. As Director of Bands, he leads the university band program, serves as conductor of the Texas A&M Wind Symphony, and coordinates the nationally famous Fightin' Texas Aggie Band marching band. As Director of Music Activities, he administratively oversees the activities of the jazz, orchestra, and choral programs. Dr. Rhea also served as the 79th President of the American Bandmasters Association from 2016-2017.
Joseph W. Hermann is a leading American wind band conductor and educator and is currently Director of Bands and Professor of Music at Tennessee Technological University in Cookeville, Tennessee. He is also the current President of the American Bandmasters Association.
Julie Ann Giroux is an American pianist and composer of orchestral, choral, chamber, and numerous concert band works.
Greg Danner is a contemporary American composer, educator, and professional musician. He is currently the composer-in-residence and professor at Tennessee Tech University in Cookeville, Tennessee. He is the 2010 Composer's Guild Grand Prize winner.
H. Robert Reynolds is an American musician,conductor and academic. He is currently the principal conductor of the Wind Ensemble at the Thornton School of Music at the University of Southern California, where he holds the H. Robert Reynolds Professorship in Wind Conducting.
Composed in 1957, Symphonic Songs for Band is one of Robert Russell Bennett's most famous compositions for wind band. The work was commissioned for the National Intercollegiate Band by Kappa Kappa Psi and Tau Beta Sigma, national honorary band fraternity and sorority, as part of the two organizations' commissioning program. Since its premiere, it has become among the most frequently performed works in the wind band repertoire. It is considered to be a cornerstone of the band literature.
Colonel Arnald D. Gabriel is the former Commander and Conductor of the United States Air Force Band, United States Air Force Symphony Orchestra, and Singing Sergeants from 1964 to 1985. In 1990, he was named the first Conductor Emeritus of the United States Air Force Band and the 29th DIV Band of the Virginia Army National Guard. Gabriel has four sons, one daughter, and thirteen grandchildren.
Jerry Junkin is an American conductor of wind bands and educator. Junkin serves on the faculty of the Butler School of Music at the University of Texas at Austin where he holds the Vincent R. and Jane D. DiNino Chair for the Director of Bands. He conducts the University of Texas Wind Ensemble and instructs graduate as well as undergraduate conducting courses. Additionally, Junkin has served as the conductor of the Dallas Wind Symphony since 1993.
