Libsyn Directory

Episode 53 - Alex Shapiro

Release Date: 03/26/2018

Everything Band Podcast

It's been quite a run, but all good things must come to an end. A special thank you to all of my listeners, all of my guests, and to my sponsors Celtic Horizons and Kaleidoscope Adventures. All of your support and belief in this show kept me going for so many episodes. I would be remiss if I didn't mention Jake Walker, who worked tirelessly behind the scenes for the final 50 or so episodes to create the website, change the branding, and create the amazing images we see for the final run of the show. He's been invaluable to me and I couldn't have gotten as far as I did without him. Ditto Colin...

Episode 211 - Benjamin Taylor

Everything Band Podcast

Benjamin Dean Taylor (born 1983), has been described as “elegant and energetic” () and “powerful and direct with delightful surprises in each work.” () Having grown up as a performer in jazz, rock, ska, country, and concert bands as well as in choirs and orchestras, Taylor is driven to write music that highlights the strengths of each performing ensemble. His catalog of more than 100 works covers a large range of styles and genres including music written for orchestra, wind band, opera, choir, jazz big band, gamelan, chamber ensembles, and soloists with live electronics. Further,...

Episode 210 - Don Stinson

Everything Band Podcast

Don Stinson is a comprehensive music educator with a robust background spanning roles as an author, speaker, and clinician. He holds educational degrees from an array of prestigious institutions including Joliet Junior College, VanderCook College of Music, and Northern Illinois University. Adding to his educational background, Don also holds a Master’s in Education Administration from the University of St. Francis, bringing unparalleled expertise to his educational endeavors. Currently, Don is the director of bands at Joliet Central High School in Joliet, Illinois, distinguishing...

Episode 209 - Evan VanDoren

Everything Band Podcast

DISCLAIMER Episodes 209-2011 were recorded in 2023 and have only recently been uploaded to the internet. There are some things that have changed since their recordings, so be aware that you are not listening to the most current events. Evan VanDoren is a freelance arranger, composer, and educational consultant. As the owner of VanDoren Music, Evan is commissioned each year to create works for concert and marching ensembles. He has arranged and orchestrated award-winning marching shows for numerous high school bands across the country. Evan is an active clinician, presenting for Drum Corps...

Episode 208 - Adrian Gordon

Everything Band Podcast

Adrian Gordon is an internationally performed composer and seasoned music educator and currently serves as the director of orchestras at Providence Day School in Charlotte, NC. In addition to teaching, Adrian is the founder of Leap Year Music Publishing, which publishes string music for elementary, middle, and high school ensembles. His compositions appear on the Florida, Texas, Maryland, and Georgia Orchestra Association Music Performance Assessment Lists. His compositions are distributed through J.W. Pepper and have been performed throughout the world. Learn more at .

Episode 207 - Sixto Montesinos

Everything Band Podcast

Dr. Sixto F. Montesinos Jr. is assistant professor of music and head of instrumental studies at Saint Mary’s College of California in the San Francisco Bay Area. He is an active Mexican-American conductor, flutist, music educator, and scholar researching new and effective ways to strengthen Mexican-American relations through the study and performance of music. These include overcoming stereotypes as well as Mexican, LGBTQ+, and LatinX representation in the field of music education, repertoire, and performance He is the artistic director of the Saint Mary's College Jazz Band as well as its...

Episode 206 - Vu Nguyen

Everything Band Podcast

Vu Nguyen is the Director of Wind Ensembles and Conducting at the University of the Pacific, Stockton, CA. Prior to his appointment at the University of Connecticut, he served as the Director of Bands at the University of Indianapolis, was a conductor of the Wind Ensemble at Washington University in St. Louis, and was a visiting conductor of the Indiana University Concert Band. He began his career teaching in the public schools of San Ramon, CA. Dr. Nguyen has conducted throughout the western United States and in Japan. He maintains an active schedule as a clinician and has served as guest...

Episode 205 - John Wojciechowski

Everything Band Podcast

Saxophonist John Wojciechowski is originally from Detroit and has spent the last 18 years performing and teaching in Chicago. In addition to leading his own groups, he has performed or recorded with The Chicago Jazz Orchestra, The Chicago Jazz Ensemble, The Woody Herman Orchestra, The Chicago Symphony Orchestra, The Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Clark Terry, Charlie Haden, and Kurt Elling among many others. John was also a third place finalist in the 1996 Thelonious Monk International Jazz Competition. John has appeared on dozens of recordings as a sideman, and has two recordings as a...

Episode 204 - Josh Johnson (w/ host Jake Walker)

Everything Band Podcast

Joshua Johnson currently serves as the Associate Director of Bands at Traughber Junior High in Oswego, Illinois. Prior to coming to Oswego, Josh served as Director of Bands at North Kirkwood Middle School and Associate Director of Bands in Kirkwood, Missouri. Joshua attended the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign where he received his Bachelor of Music Education Degree with Honors. During his time at Illinois, he was a member of the Illinois Wind Symphony, the Marching Illini, the University of Illinois Black Chorus, and many other university ensembles. Josh studied Oboe with Professor...

Episode 203 - Karen Fannin

Everything Band Podcast

Karen Fannin is Professor, Director of Bands, and Interim Director of the School of Music at the University of Nebraska at Omaha where she conducts the Symphonic Wind Ensemble, teaches undergraduate and graduate conducting, instructs courses in music education, and provides leadership for all aspects of the UNO band program. Previously, Dr. Fannin served as Director of Bands and Department Chair at Hendrix College. While in Arkansas, Dr. Fannin also held the position of Music Director and Conductor of the Little Rock Wind Symphony. A native of Iowa, Dr. Fannin began her teaching career...

More Episodes

Episode 53 - Alex Shapiro

Composer Alex Shapiro kicks off year two of the podcast with a terrific conversation about her career and her remarkable perspectives about composing and music.

Topics:

How growing up in New York City with two very supportive parents helped Alex to a career in music.
The importance of “showing up” and how it leads to amazing connections and opportunities.
Her remarkable story about her transition from writing commercial music for media to becoming a concert composer and then how she got involved in writing for band.
Her creative process and the story of how a glass of Scotch and the frustration of a late night led to the creation of her work Paper Cut.

Links:

Biography:

Composer Alex Shapiro aligns note after note with the hope that at least a few of them will actually sound good next to each other. Her persistence at this activity, as well as non-fiction music writing, arts advocacy, public speaking, wildlife photography, and the shameless instigation of insufferable puns on Facebook, has led to a happy life. Drawing from a broad musical palette that giddily ignores genre, Alex's acoustic and electroacoustic works are published by Activist Music LLC, performed and broadcast daily, and can be found on nearly thirty commercial releases from record labels around the world.

TOPICS