WEDNESDAY, JUNE 26–SATURDAY, JUNE 29

Registration for the 2013 Virginia Tech Band Directors Institute & Conducting Workshop is now open! All of the spots for conducting participants have been filled, but there are an unlimited number of spots for non-conducting participants.

discover. experience. connect.

The Virginia Tech Department of Music is pleased to announce the 2013 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. Twenty 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 eight 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 $125, 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

Craig Kirchhoff is professor of conducting and director of university bands at the University of Minnesota, where he conducts the Wind Ensemble. Kirchhoff coordinates the graduate program in wind ensemble/band conducting and guides all aspects of the University of Minnesota band program. Born and educated in Wisconsin, Kirchhoff brings to his position a wide knowledge of both traditional and contemporary literature. He has won critical acclaim from composers Warren Benson, Henry Brant, Michael Colgrass, Karel Husa, Libby Larsen, George Perle, Vincent Persichetti, Stephen Paulus, Verne Reynolds, Gunther Schuller, Joseph Schwantner, Steven Stucky, Elliott Schwartz, Chen Yi, and others.

Kirchhoff is past president of the College Band Directors National Association and a member of the American Bandmasters Association, National Band Association, World Association of Symphonic Bands and Ensembles, and Music Educators National Conference, and he served as the founding editor and principal advisor of the College Band Directors National Association Journal.

Kirchhoff has appeared as guest conductor, clinician, and lecturer throughout the United States, Australia, Canada, Japan, Taiwan, Europe, and Scandinavia. Kirchhoff is a frequent guest conductor of the Tokyo Kosei Wind Orchestra and has recorded with them on the Kosei Publishing label.

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 earned doctor and master of music degrees in conducting at Northwestern University in Evanston, Ill., 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, Minn.

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 and other ensembles in California, the District of Columbia, Iowa, New Jersey, North Carolina, Virginia, and Washington state during the 2012-2013 season.

Elizabeth Jackson Kirchhoff

Elizabeth Jackson Kirchhoff is has been active as an instrumental music educator, conductor, and clinician in the United States and Norway for the past 29 years. She completed a bachelor of arts in music education at St. Olaf College, master of music in conducting at Northwestern University, and Ph.D. in music education at The Ohio State University. Jackson currently teaches at Eden Prairie High School in Eden Prairie, Minn., where she conducts the Wind Ensemble and Concert Band and founded the chamber winds program. Under Jackson’s direction, the Wind Ensemble was selected to perform at the 2010 Minnesota Music Educators Association Midwinter Clinic, Music for All National Concert Band Festival in 2001 and 2010, and Kennedy Center for Performing Arts in 2004. Prior to her appointment at Eden Prairie, she taught music 5–12 in Wrenshall, Minn., band 9–12 at Spring Lake Park High School, and band 5–8 in the Hopkins school district. Beginning in 2004, she spent a three-year sabbatical as assistant professor of music education at the University of Minnesota before returning to Eden Prairie High School in the fall of 2007.

Jackson’s recent professional activities as a clinician include the 2009 MECA Continuing Education Seminar at VanderCook College of Music, 2010 Alaska Music Educators Association state convention, 2010 Ithaca College Northeast Wind Symposium, 2011 MICCA Concert Band Festival in Boston, Mass., and 2012 Art of Wind Band Teaching at the University of Minnesota. She has also served as the guest conductor in residence for the St. Olaf College Band during the spring of 2008, conductor of the 2009 Colorado All-State Concert Band, and conductor of the 2011 Tri-State Middle School Honor Band in Decorah, Iowa

Jackson has served on the advisory committee for the American Composers Forum’s BandQuest series and as a region representative on the board of the Minnesota Music Educators Association. She is past-president of the Minnesota Band Directors Association and was named the Minnesota Music Educators Association Educator of the Year in 2010. Jackson is currently the editor of the Interval, Minnesota’s professional journal for music educators.

David McKee

David McKee is in his twenty-seventh 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 the University of Michigan at the 2012 Sugar Bowl in New Orleans. 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 16 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 earned 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.