Registration for the 2012 Virginia Tech Band Directors Institute will begin in the spring. Please e-mail tjcross@vt.edu if you would like to be notified when registration opens.

discover. experience. connect.

The Virginia Tech Department of Music is pleased to announce the 2012 Virginia Tech Band Directors Institute & Conducting Workshop, a four-day symposium designed for wind band teachers of all levels. Participants come from both within Virginia and across the country and include school music educators, private teachers, military band musicians, and current undergraduate and graduate students. Our goal is to offer a variety of activities that appeal to the dual roles of musician and educator and provide a growth experience for anyone interested in the art of teaching and conducting.

The Virginia Tech Band Directors Institute is one of the most affordable offerings of its kind!

discover.

Participate in sessions covering a wide range of topics, from repertory and programming to rehearsal techniques, interpretation, and program development. Three reading sessions will introduce new works for band, as well as chosen and forgotten gems.

experience.

You may choose to conduct selected repertory for both full-band and chamber ensembles and receive coaching and video feedback from the clinicians. Eighteen conducting participant spots are available on a first-come, first-served basis. An unlimited number of spots are available for non-conducting participants.

connect.

Meet and interact with colleagues from around the state and region within a relaxed and supportive environment and the beautiful summer weather of Blacksburg.

Student Fellowships

The Institute will once again offer up to nine fellowships for outstanding senior or graduate music education majors nominated by their college band directors. Fellowship recipients will attend at a reduced rate of only $100, participate in all sessions and activities, and take part in discussions and conducting activities specifically tailored for beginning teachers. We are thrilled to offer this special opportunity for the newest members of our profession to interact with more experienced colleagues and leaders in the field! For more information, including an application form, please visit the Student Fellowships page.

Faculty

Michael Haithcock assumed his duties as director of bands and professor of music (conducting) at the University of Michigan in the fall of 2001, following 23 years on the faculty of Baylor University. Following in the footsteps of William D. Revelli and H. Robert Reynolds, Haithcock conducts the internationally renowned University of Michigan Symphony Band, guides the acclaimed graduate band and wind ensemble conducting program, and provides administrative leadership for all aspects of the University of Michigan's diverse and historic band program.

Ensembles under Haithcock's guidance have received a wide array of critical acclaim for their high artistic standards of performance and repertory. These accolades have come through concerts at national and state conventions, performances in major concert venues, and recordings on the Albany, Arsis, and Equilibrium labels. Haithcock was selected to conduct the world premiere of Daron Hagen’s Bandanna, an opera for voice and wind band, commissioned by the College Band Directors National Association, and is a leader in commissioning and premiering new works for concert band. Haithcock has earned the praise of both composers and conductors for his innovative approaches to developing the wind ensemble repertoire and programming. Haithcock is in constant demand as a guest conductor and resource person for symposiums and workshops in a variety of instructional settings, as well as festival and all-state appearances throughout the country.

A graduate of East Carolina University, where he received the 1996 Outstanding Alumni Award from the School of Music, and Baylor University, Haithcock has done additional study at a variety of conducting workshops, including the Herbert Blomstedt Orchestral Conducting Institute. The Instrumentalist, the Michigan School Band and Orchestra Association, School Musician, Southwest Music Educator, and WINDS magazine have published his articles on conducting and wind literature.

Travis J. Cross

Travis J. Cross is an assistant professor of music at Virginia Tech, where he conducts the Symphonic Wind Ensemble and teaches courses in conducting. He completed doctoral coursework at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, where he studied with Mallory Thompson. He previously earned the bachelor of music degree cum laude in vocal and instrumental music education from St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota, and the master of music degree in conducting from Northwestern.

Cross taught for four years at Edina (Minnesota) High School, where he conducted two concert bands and oversaw the marching band program. In 2004, he was selected to participate in the inaugural Young Conductor/Mentor Project sponsored by the National Band Association. The same year he received the Distinguished Young Band Director Award from the American School Band Directors Association of Minnesota. From 2001–2003, Cross served a two-year term as the recent graduate on the St. Olaf College Board of Regents. In 2006, he was named a Jacob K. Javits Fellow by the United States Department of Education. He currently serves as national vice president for professional relations for Kappa Kappa Psi, the national honorary band fraternity.

Cross contributed a chapter to volume four of Composers on Composing for Band, available from GIA Publications. His original works and arrangements for band, choir, and orchestra are published by Boosey & Hawkes, Daehn Publications, and Theodore Music. He has appeared as a guest conductor, composer, and clinician in several states and at the Midwest Clinic and leads honor bands in Massachusetts, Virginia, and West Virginia during the 2011–2012 season.

David W. Vandewalker

David W. Vandewalker is the director of bands at Harrison High School in the Cobb County (Ga.) Public Schools. He serves both the Georgia State Board of Education and the Cobb County School District as a lead curriculum writer for band, as well as the Georgia Music Educators Association as chair for the state music selection committee. Additionally, Vandewalker is a current elected member of the board of directors for the National Band Association. Prior to 1996, he taught in the Klein and Belton (Texas) school districts. Vandewalker was honored as the 1995 Teacher of the Year in a National Exemplary School of Excellence and is a 1998 Cobb County Teacher of Excellence Award recipient.

Vandewalker is author of Boosters to the Rescue, Everyday Stuff Every Director Needs to Know, Foundations for Wind Band Clarity, and Foundations for Wind Band Clarity instructional DVD published by Vision Publications. He received a bachelor of music education degree from Baylor University, where he studied clarinet with Richard A. Shanley and conducting with Michael L. Haithcock. He earned his master of arts in education from Central Michigan University and is pursuing his doctor of musical arts in music education from Boston University.

Vandewalker, a recognized member of multiple editions of Who’s Who Among American Teachers and Who’s Who in America, is in his twenty-third year as a music educator. He is a seven-time recipient of the prestigious National Band Association’s National Citation of Excellence Award. In May of 2007, The John Philip Sousa Foundation presented Vandewalker and the Harrison Band program with the prestigious Sudler Flag of Honor. He has conducted ensembles in state and national events that include Georgia Music Educators Association conventions, Bands of America national concert Band festivals, University of Georgia high school honor band festivals, and the Midwest Clinic. The Harrison Marching Band is a 2004, 2006, and 2008 Bands of America regional champion and a 2007 Bands of America Grand Nationasl finalist. The Harrison Marching Band can be seen and heard in Hollywood film productions Drumline and Radio.

David is an active clinician for district and state in-service conferences including the Midwest Clinic, Texas Bandmasters Association, Oklahoma Bandmasters Association, Georgia Music Educators Association, Bands of America Summer Symposium, and NBA national convention. Vandewalker also serves as adjudicator, consultant, and guest conductor across the United States. He is affiliated with professional organizations that include Phi Beta Mu, NBA, MENC, WASBE, GMEA and Kappa Kappa Psi. David and his wife, Pamela, reside in Marietta, Ga.

David McKee

David McKee is in his twenty-sixth year at Virginia Tech, where he is director of The Marching Virginians. A native of Lynchburg, he received his B.M.E. from Shenandoah Conservatory of Music in 1976 and his M.A.Ed. from Virginia Tech in 1986. He has done additional graduate study at Florida State University.

Under his direction, The Marching Virginians have performed throughout the nation for football games, parades, and other activities, sharing performances with bands from the University of Texas, Florida State University, and most recently with Stanford University at the 2011 Orange Bowl in Miami. In addition to a demanding schedule of performances throughout the football season, The Marching Virginians are the model of Ut Prosim, serving the university community through twelve Hokies for the Hungry canned food drives, two collaborative hurricane relief trips to New Orleans with the YMCA Student Programs at Virginia Tech, and many performances and presentations for public school students in the region. The Marching Virginians recently embarked on a unique partnership with Habitat for Humanity of the New River Valley. Over the past decade, the Marching Virginians Alumni Association has developed into an exceptional source of networking and funding for the Marching Virginians, providing over half a million dollars of support to the band.

In addition to directing The Marching Virginians, McKee conducts the Symphony Band. He is an active guest conductor, clinician, and advocate for music education in the public schools. At the 2007 Virginia Music Educators Association Conference in Norfolk, he served as a percussionist, orator, and conductor within the span of 48 hours. In 2005, Mr. McKee was awarded a Certificate of Teaching Excellence by the College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences. He is a member of the ACC Band Directors Association, past-president of the Big East Band Directors Association, and has served on the Athletic Band Advisory Committee of the College Band Directors National Association.

Polly Middleton

Polly Middleton is assistant director of The Marching Virginians, director of the Hokies Pep Band, and director of the Campus Band. Previous to her appointment at Virginia Tech, she completed coursework for a doctorate in music education at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, where she studied with James Keene and Robert Rumbelow, conducted the University Band, directed the Basketball Band, taught the Marching Illini, and supervised student teachers. She earned the master of music degree in wind conducting from Indiana University, where she studied with Stephen Pratt, and received a bachelor of music education degree from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, where she was a drum major for the Marching Illini.

Middleton was associate director of bands at Plainfield (Ill.) High School and worked with all aspects of the program, including concert bands, chamber ensembles, jazz band, and athletic bands. She is an active performer and played horn in the top ensembles at both Indiana and Illinois. Middleton is an honorary member of Tau Beta Sigma and recipient of the Gary E. Smith Award for excellence in the Marching Illini and Wind Symphony. In 2011, Middleton received the A.A. Harding Award, the most prestigious recognition awarded for outstanding performance, achievement, and service to the University of Illinois Bands.