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 .
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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Episode 202 - Mary Cogswell
Everything Band Podcast
Mary Cogswell is the current president of the South Dakota Bandmasters Association, the editor of the Beginning Band Adaptable series, and a long time beginning band teacher. If you teach beginners, this is the episode for you!
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Episode 201 - Kenneth Collins
Everything Band Podcast
Biography Capt. Kenneth C. Collins, a native of Reno, Nevada, entered the Navy in 1989 and attended recruit training in San Diego, California. Upon completion of Musician "A" school, he served as a percussionist in fleet bands in Guam and Newport, Rhode Island. His first assignment upon receiving a commission as a limited duty officer bandmaster in 1998 was as the ceremonial band leader and associate conductor of the U.S. Navy Band in Washington, D.C., and shortly thereafter an assignment as the assistant director of the U.S. Naval Academy Band in Annapolis, Maryland. Collins served as the...
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Episode 200 - Matthew Maslanka
Everything Band Podcast
Matthew Maslanka is David Maslanka’s second son and the primary caretaker of David’s music. Born in New York City in 1982, he grew up listening to his father composing at the piano. From the age of 10, Matthew started helping out by making photocopies of scores and dubbing cassette tapes for David to send to conductors interested in the music. At 12, Matthew discovered the delights of engraving music with a computer. By 14, he was skilled enough to handle the preparation of his father’s music and proceeded to engrave virtually every work from that point forward. In this way, he...
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Episode 199 - Gary Green
Everything Band Podcast
Gary Green is Director of Bands Emeritus at the Frost School of Music at the University of Miami, Florida. Prior to joining the faculty at UM, Gary served for ten years as Director of Bands at the University of Connecticut. Gary joins the show today to discuss the important life lessons that music teachers need to know to build a culture of excellence. Gary Green and was influential in commissioning and recording new works for winds and percussion which included Symphony No. 3 by David Maslanka and A Cornfield in July and The River by William Penn. Urban Requiem by Michael Colgrass was...
info_outlineAmy Knopps is the Associate Director of Bands and the Director of Athletic Bands at the University of Missouri, Columbia. In this episode, Amy shares her story of growing up in the Kansas City area and how she found her way to her dream job as the director of the Marching Mizzou.
Topics:
- Amy’s background growing up in Lee’s Summit through her college experience as a student at the University of Missouri.
- Amy’s first job, the connections that made her first teaching job in Kansas City so special, and her first college teaching job at Eastern Michigan University.
- Some lessons that we can apply to our own teaching from her story.
- The Marching Mizzou, leadership, community, and the advantages of being the athletic band director at the flagship university of her native state.
- The challenges of being a female band athletic band director and words of encouragement for young female band directors.
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Biography:
Amy M. Knopps is the Associate Director of Bands and Director of Athletic Bands at the University of Missouri where she directs Marching Mizzou, Mini Mizzou, Symphonic Band, and teaches courses in the music education curriculum of the School of Music. Prior to her appointment in the fall of 2017, Dr. Knopps served for seven years as Associate Professor of Music, Associate Director of Bands, and Director of Athletic Bands in the School of Music and Dance at Eastern Michigan University. While at Eastern Michigan she was a Faculty Spotlight Recipient, the Eastern Michigan University Thank-A-Teacher Inaugural Recipient, and featured in a historic exhibition titled, "In Her Shoes: Forging Paths at EMU" as she was the first woman to direct the Eastern Michigan University Marching Band and serve as Associate Director of Bands.
Dr. Knopps earned degrees from The University of Georgia (DMA), the University of Kansas (MM), and the University of Missouri (BS, Ed.) where her principal conducting teachers were Dr. John P. Lynch and Dr. Dale J. Lonis. While at Georgia and Kansas she held conducting associate positions that involved conducting both concert and athletic bands as well as teaching courses in the music curriculum. During her time at The University of Georgia, Dr. Knopps received the Hugh Hodgson School of Music Director’s Excellence Award and at the University of Kansas she received the Russell L. Wiley Graduate Conducting Award.
Additional teaching experience includes numerous years as Director of Bands at Center High School and Center Middle School in her hometown of Kansas City, Missouri where she guided all aspects of the diverse and award winning band program. While in the Center School District, Dr. Knopps received the 2003 Missouri Fine Arts Outstanding Teacher Award and the 2004 You Make the Difference Award for her dedication and commitment to excellence in education. As an advocate for new wind music she solely commissioned and premiered Jonathan Newman’s 1861 for concert band in 2003 and continues her commitment to contributing to the wind band repertoire through additional commissions for Symphonic Band at the University of Missouri.
Dr. Knopps continues to be an active conductor, clinician, and adjudicator across the United States and internationally having worked and performed throughout Asia, Australia, Canada, Europe, and South America. Each summer she serves as a clinician/instructor at the Smith-Walbridge Clinics held in Charleston, Illinois working with high school and college drum majors from across the country. Dr. Knopps is also known for her published contributions as she has authored several articles for School Band and Orchestra Magazine, and has contributed to seven volumes of the Teaching Music Through Performance in Band series. In addition to her published articles she has completed extensive research on American-Sponsored overseas secondary band programs in the People’s Republic of China.
Dr. Knopps maintains professional affiliations with the College Band Directors National Association (CBDNA), currently serving on the CBDNA Athletic Bands Committee, World Association for Symphonic Bands and Ensembles (WASBE), the National Association for Music Education (NAfME), National Band Association (NBA), currently serving as the Missouri State Chair, Phi Beta Mu, Tau Beta Sigma, Kappa Kappa Psi, currently serving as the sponsor for the Eta Upsilon chapter, the Griffiths Leadership Society for Women, currently serving on the Executive Committee, and QEBH, the oldest of six secret honor societies at the University of Missouri. She currently resides in Columbia, Missouri with her two cats Buddy and Rocky.