Wright State University Wind Symphony

Representing Wright State as the university’s premier wind band, the Wright State University Wind Symphony performs the finest in symphonic wind repertoire, ranging from transcriptions to original compositions. Membership is comprised primarily of undergraduate students currently representing eight different majors across campus. The ensemble often performs programs dedicated to issues surrounding social justice and diversity. This will be the WSU Wind Symphony’s inaugural performance at a CBDNA conference.

Meet the Conductor

Shelley Jagow, Professor of Music, Director of Bands

Attend the Concert

Thursday, April 4 | 2:30–3:30 p.m. | Weigel Auditorium

WRIGHT STATE UNIVERSITY WIND SYMPHONY

Dr. Shelley Jagow, conductor

John Estacio: Frenergy

Vincent Persichetti:
Symphony No. 6, Op. 69

John Mackey: Some treasures
are heavy with human tears…

Sonia Morales-Matos:
Fiesta No. 4 for Winds and Percussion

Allan Gilliland: Lower Neighbours
from Dreaming of the Masters

James David: Urban Light

South Dakota State University Wind Symphony

The South Dakota State University Wind Symphony is the elite concert band of SDSU and is one of the most respected wind ensembles in the region. The group strives to further the impact of wind band music on the upper Midwest through excellence in performance of the highest quality repertoire for the medium with particular focus toward representation of compositional voices from a diverse and varied background. Annual touring of this group has taken it throughout the nation and its accolades include recognitions from The American Prize and a standing invitation as the keynote performance ensemble for the South Dakota Bandmasters Association annual convention.

Meet the Conductor

Jacob Wallace, Associate Professor of Music and Director of Concert Bands

Jacob Wallace is passionately committed to the performance of contemporary instrumental music. His efforts to present innovative and approachable programming of new works have brought modern trends to atypical places, with performances being lauded by audiences and professionals alike. Ensembles under his direction have presented world, national, and regional premieres of works by many talented and diverse composers.

Dr. Wallace is currently on the faculty of South Dakota State University, where he serves as Associate Professor of Music and Director of Concert Bands. In this capacity, he conducts the Wind Symphony; teaches coursework in conducting, literature, and education; and administrates the wind ensemble activities of the School of Performing Arts as a whole. Prior to this, he served as Director of Bands at Southeastern Oklahoma State University. From 2013-2015, he served on the conducting faculty of the Cortona Sessions for New Music in Tuscany, Italy. He was named the winner of The American Prize in Conducting in 2019, and the SDSU Wind Symphony under his direction has received two national placements for The American Prize in 2023.

Dr. Wallace holds degrees from The University of Georgia, Baylor University, and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. He remains active as an adjudicator, conductor, and clinician throughout the United States and maintains professional affiliations with the College Band Directors National Association, the National Association for Music Education, and the South Dakota Bandmasters Association. He is a member of the Phi Beta Mu International Bandmasters Fraternity as well as the Pi Kappa Lambda music honor society and holds honorary membership in the Tau Beta Sigma National Honorary Band Service Sorority and the Kappa Kappa Psi National Honorary Band Fraternity.

Occasionally, he posts band selfies on Instagram using the handle @jwconductor.

Attend the Concert

Thursday, April 4 | 8–9:15 p.m. | Weigel Auditorium

SOUTH DAKOTA STATE UNIVERSITY WIND SYMPHONY

Dr. Jacob Wallace, conductor

Paul Hindemith: Symphony in B-Flat

Caroline Shaw/Edgerton: Is a Rose

Nicole Piunno: Sunflower Studies

The University of Akron Wind Symphony

The University of Akron Wind Symphony is the most select ensemble of wind and percussion students in the UA School of Music. 

The Wind Symphony performs the finest repertoire for wind band and is active in commissioning and premiering new works.  Conference performances most recently include appearances at the 2022, 2020, 2018 and 2016 Ohio Music Education Association Professional Development Conferences. 

Meet the Conductor

Galen S. Karriker, Director of Bands and Professor of Music

Dr. Galen S. Karriker is Director of Bands and Professor of Music at The University of Akron. He conducts the UA Wind Symphony, Concert Band, and coordinates the university band program. Dr. Karriker also teaches courses in Advanced Conducting, Percussion Methods and oversees the annual Ohio Band Directors Conference and High School Band Clinic Festival. 

In addition to his teaching schedule, Dr. Karriker is active as a guest conductor and clinician. He is also a contributing author for the 11th and 12th Editions of Teaching Music Through Performance in Band. Outside the university, Dr. Karriker serves as conductor of the Akron Symphonic Winds and the W.D. Packard Concert Band in Warren, Ohio.

Dr. Karriker holds numerous professional memberships and serves on the John Philip Sousa Foundation Legion of Honor Committee. He is a member of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia and Phi Beta Mu and is an honorary member of Kappa Kappa Psi (1992), Tau Beta Sigma (2000), and Pi Kappa Lambda (2003). In 2023, Dr. Karriker was selected for membership in the prestigious American Bandmaster’s Association. 

Dr. Karriker earned a Bachelor of Music Education degree from Louisiana State University in 1992, and a Master of Music and Doctor of Musical Arts degree in wind conducting from Michigan State University in 1994 and 2012 respectively. Dr. Karriker served on the faculty at the University of Wisconsin-Madison from 1995–1999 as the Assistant to the Director of Bands. He is married to Kendra Karriker, Director of Orchestras at Chagrin Falls Exempted School District and they are blessed with two children, Graeson and Korinne. 

Attend the Concert

Friday, April 5 | 1:30–2:30 p.m. | Weigel Auditorium

THE UNIVERSITY OF AKRON WIND SYMPHONY

Galen Karriker, conductor

Nicole Piunno: Bright Shadow Fanfare

Julie Giroux: Radiant Shadows

Joel Love: Solace (A Lyric Concerto)
(mvts. 1, 3, 5)

Ryan Nowlin: Song of Solace

Kevin Day: Uplift

John Mackey: Aurora Awakes

Purdue University Fort Wayne Symphonic Wind Ensemble

The Symphonic Wind Ensemble is the premier instrumental ensemble at the Purdue Fort Wayne School of Music and is open to all students through audition. The ensemble performs the most advanced literature written for the wind band medium from the Renaissance to today.  Premieres of works by Pulitzer prize-winning William Bolcom, Omar Thomas, Viet Cuong, Andy Akiho, Ana Lara, Michael Markowski, Steven Bryant, as well as future works from Zhou Tian, Jennifer Jolley, and Pulitzer prize-winning Tonia León provide a glimpse into the literature the Symphonic Wind Ensemble performs throughout the year.

The ensemble made its Carnegie Hall debut in 2015, visited Europe in 2018, where the ensemble performed in numerous grand concert halls, including in the Konzerthaus in Vienna, Mozarteum in Salzburg, and Rudolfinum in Prague, where it performed Karel Husa’s Music for Prague 1968 on its fiftieth anniversary. Other stops included Leipzig, Dresden, Bayreuth, České Budějovice, and Gera, Germany. In spring 2023, the Symphonic Wind Ensemble toured Asia.

Meet the Conductor

Daniel Tembras, Associate Professor of Music/Director of the School of Music

Daniel Tembras serves as the Director of Instrumental Studies at Purdue University Fort Wayne. His duties include conducting the Symphonic Wind Ensemble and Symphonic Band, teaching courses in conducting and music education, and coordinating the woodwind, brass, and percussion areas. Dr. Tembras holds a DMA degree in Wind Conducting from The University of Texas at Austin. Prior to this, he served as the Assistant to the Director of Bands at The University of Texas at Austin, Director of the Longhorn Jazz Band and Combo, and Assistant Director of the Longhorn Basketball and Volleyball Bands. Dr. Tembras received the Master of Music degree in Wind Conducting from Michigan State University.

While in Michigan, Dr. Tembras served as a director in the Mason Public Schools in Mason, Michigan, and in the Kearsley Community Schools in Flint, Michigan. Dr. Tembras is a native of Lansing, Michigan, and received his Bachelor of Music degree from Michigan State University.

A champion of artistic collaboration and new music, Tembras has premiered and/or collaborated with leading artists including Pulitzer Prize winning composer William Bolcom, David Maslanka, John Mackey, Steven Bryant, Joel Puckett, Michael Markowski and soloists Billy Hunter, Principal Trumpet of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, Gail Williams, Joseph Lulloff, and Kenneth Tse, amongst others.

Dr. Tembras is a frequent guest conductor throughout the United States and abroad, including the Beijing Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing, China, the United States Army Field Band, and the World Youth Wind Orchestra Project (WYWOP) in Schladming, Austria as part of the Mid-Europe International Festival, an ensemble comprised of talented young international musicians from Europe, Australia, Japan, and North America. Recently, the IPFW Symphonic Wind Ensemble gave their debut performance in Carnegie Hall in New York City and will be embarking on a two-week tour of Europe performing in some of the world’s greatest concert halls. Dr. Tembras is a member of the College Band Directors National Association, NAfME, the Texas Music Educators Association, the Michigan State Band and Orchestra Association, and is a frequent guest clinician throughout the United States and is an honorary member of Phi Mu Alpha.

Attend the Concert

Friday, April 5 | 4:30–5:30 p.m. | Weigel Auditorium

PURDUE UNIVERSITY FORT WAYNE
SYMPHONIC WIND ENSEMBLE

Daniel Tembras, conductor

Connor Wooley: Iron Horse

Gustav Holst: Marching Song

Julius Eastman: Stay on It

Jennifer Higdon: Mysterium

Arturo Rodriguez:
Cuando Hablan Los Vientos
("When the Winds Speak")

Paul Dooley: Elytra

The Ohio State University Wind Symphony

Conducted by Professor Russel C. Mikkelson, The Ohio State University Wind Symphony is widely recognized as one of the country's elite wind bands. Its membership comprises the most accomplished brass, woodwind and percussion players in the School of Music. Committed to the creation of new music for winds, this ensemble regularly commissions and premieres music for the medium. Current and recently commissioned composers include Pulitzer Prize winners Julia Wolfe, Wynton Marsalis, William Bolcom, and Aaron Jay Kernis, as well as esteemed composers Robert Beaser, Zhou Tian, John Mackey and many others.

Graduates of the Wind Symphony hold positions as professional orchestral musicians, soloists, conductors, members of the Washington-based military bands, university professors, and include some of the world's leading music educators. The Wind Symphony Recording Project, instituted in 2000, has recorded six compact discs including Network (Naxos), Rest (Naxos), Southern Harmony (Naxos), Winds of Nagual (Naxos), Jubilare! (Mark Custom), and Sounds, Shapes and Symbols (Mark Custom). The Wind Symphony has twice performed at the national conference of the College Band Directors National Association, the American Bandmasters Association national conference, the CBDNA North Central Division, and performs regularly at the Ohio Music Educators Association Professional Development Conference.

What the reviewers are saying:

"...the music is very strong and tightly played by this expert wind ensemble. By turns splashy and reflectively still, this is an outstanding wind symphony disc. Naxos' Southern Harmony: Music for Wind Band is a solid effort on every front; a great band, outstanding, fresh literature, and a fine recording -- made at OSU's Weigel Auditorium -- that delivers all of the music up close and personal." — All Music Guide

“(I played in a good band), but we never came within a continent of the Ohio State University Wind Symphony, who under director Russel C. Mikkelson give us some superlative performances of 20th and 21st century works on Network (Naxos 8.573446). They not only sound great, they have chosen a program that keeps you energized and interested.” — Gapplegate Music Review

"Sound is superb and quite vivid. The performances are stellar in keeping with OSU's outstanding musical tradition. It's hard to believe that this is only a college ensemble. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!" — Joseph Kline, classical music reviewer

Meet the Conductor

Russel C. Mikkelson
Professor of Wind Conducting; Director of University Bands

Russel C. Mikkelson was appointed in 1998 as the sixth director of University Bands at The Ohio State University, where he serves as professor of music (conducting), former area head of Conducting and Ensembles, conducts the Wind Symphony, leads the graduate wind conducting program and oversees all aspects of the university's band program. Under his direction, the Ohio State Wind Symphony has performed twice at the College Band Directors National Association Convention, the American Bandmasters Association Convention, the CBDNA North Central Conference, and at the Ohio Music Educators Association Professional Development Conference seven times. Further, the Wind Symphony has recorded six CDs (see Recordings): Network (Naxos), Rest (Naxos), Southern Harmony (Naxos), Winds of Nagual (Naxos), Jubilare! (Mark Records) and Sounds, Shapes and Symbols (Mark Records) to critical acclaim. Fanfare magazine states, "The Ohio State musicians play their collective hearts out and conductor Mikkelson shapes the music with a loving hand, wringing every last drop of emotion out of the music. If this does not give you goose-bumps, nothing will."

A relentless advocate for the creation of new works, Mikkelson chairs the Big Ten Conference’s Commissioning Project, serves on the American Bandmasters Association Commissioning Committee, and has instituted a program of regular commissioning projects for the Ohio State Bands. He has received praise from esteemed composers Leslie Bassett, Krzysztof Penderecki, John Corigliano, Michael Colgrass, Joseph Schwantner, Aaron Jay Kernis, Jennifer Higdon, Gunther Schuller, Augusta Read Thomas, Frank Ticheli, John Mackey, Steven Bryant and Michael Daugherty — among others — for his musical realization of their compositions. Corigliano wrote, “Russel Mikkelson is a conductor who really understands my music, and that’s rare.”

Professor Mikkelson is past president of the North Central Division of the College Band Directors National Association (CBDNA) and of the Big Ten Band Directors Association; is a member of NAfME, Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia, Phi Beta Mu; and is a duly elected member of the American Bandmasters Association. An enthusiastic advocate of public school music education, Mikkelson has conducted All-State Bands, Festivals, and Honor Bands across the United States and internationally. The 2021–2022 academic year sees him conducting the All-State Bands of New York and Colorado. Additionally, he serves as music director and conductor of the professional Newark-Granville Symphony Orchestra, as well as the Heisey Wind Ensemble, a highly skilled community band.

Mikkelson is the recipient of both The Ohio State University School of Music Distinguished Teaching Award and the Distinguished Scholar Award, in addition to serving on the editorial board of the Journal of Band Research. He has published articles in The Instrumentalist and The Journal of the Conductor’s Guild; as a composer/arranger, he is published through C. Alan and Daehn Publications. Previous posts include the State University of New York at Fredonia, Stevens Point Area Senior High School (WI) and Kickapoo High School (Wisconsin). He was recently honored with the University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire's President's Alumni Award, recognizing outstanding professional and personal achievement. Read more.

Attend the Concert

Access the digital program

Friday, April 5 | 7:30–8:45 p.m. | Weigel Auditorium

THE OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY WIND SYMPHONY

Russel C. Mikkelson, conductor

Watch Ohio State concert on YouTube

Ingolf Dahl: Sinfonietta (mvt. 1)

Igor Stravinsky: Concerto for
Piano and Wind Instruments

Caroline Hong, soloist

Peter Boyer/Jay Bocook:
Ellis Island: The Dream of America

Youngstown State University Wind Ensemble

The Youngstown State University Wind Ensemble, led by Dr. Michael S. Butler, is the premier wind band in the Dana School of Music. They perform a diverse repertoire and have earned numerous accolades, including recognition in 2023 from CBDNA as one of the finest small university wind ensembles in the country, securing second place in The American Prize Wind Ensemble category, and performing at Severance Hall, home of the Cleveland Orchestra.

Meet the Conductor

Michael S. Butler, Director of Bands

Dr. Michael S. Butler serves as the Director of Bands at Youngstown State University in the Dana School of Music. In this role, he oversees all facets of the university’s band and orchestra program, conducting the Wind Ensemble, Symphony Orchestra, and the Dana Faculty Ensemble, and serves as the Music Director for the YSU Youth Orchestra.

Since joining YSU in 2021, Dr. Butler has diligently upheld the rich and strong legacy of musical excellence. Under his guidance, the Wind Ensemble has consistently earned prestigious accolades for their outstanding performances. In 2023, the ensemble received multiple honors for excellence, securing second place in The American Prize Wind Ensemble category and was selected as one of the finest small university wind ensembles to showcase at the National College Band Directors National Association (CBDNA) conference. Furthermore, the ensemble had the honor of performing at the 2023 Northeast Ohio Band Invitational held at Severance Hall, home of The Cleveland Orchestra. Invitations for performances at the 2024 CBDNA North Central Conference and Ohio Music Educators Association Conference underscore Dr. Butler's commitment to musical excellence.  

Previously, Dr. Butler served as the Director of Bands for six years at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point where the Symphonic Wind Ensemble was recognized twice by CBDNA as one of the finest small university wind ensembles in the nation, first in 2017 and second in 2019. The ensemble was also selected through blind peer review to perform at the 2019 Wisconsin Chapter of the National Band Association Conference in Eau Claire. Additional experience includes serving as the Associate Director of Bands & Orchestra at Spruce Creek High School, the Director of Bands at William R. Boone High School, and teaching at the University of Florida. Ensembles under his leadership flourished and received invitations to perform at the Florida Music Educators Conference and the renowned Carnegie Hall.

The National Band Association has recognized Dr. Butler with multiple Citations of Excellence for his significant contributions to wind bands. Serving actively as a clinician, adjudicator, and guest conductor, he has conducted ensembles such as the United States Army Band 'Pershing’s Own' and the United States Army Field Band. Dr. Butler is a proud alumnus of Tennessee Technological University (B.M.) and the University of Florida (M.M. and Ph.D.).

Attend the Concert

Saturday, April 6 | 11 a.m.–12 p.m. | Weigel Auditorium

YOUNGSTOWN STATE UNIVERSITY WIND ENSEMBLE 

Michael S. Butler, conductor

Wayne Oquin: Flashback

Lindsay Bronnenkant: Tarot (mvt. 2)

Benjamin R. Barker
Bamboo Shoots and City Streets

Haydn Wood: Montmartre March

John Mackey: Kingfisher’s Catch Fire

The CBDNA-NC Intercollegiate Band

This ensemble is an Honor Band organized by director nominations from our North Central Division of CBDNA.

Meet the Conductor

Conductor, Intercollegiate Band; Conn Selmer Clinician

Prof. Hill's appearance is sponsored by Conn Selmer.

Gary W. Hill — Professor of Music and Director of Bands, Emeritus, at Arizona State University, where he taught from 1999-2019 — is one of the most sought-after guest conductors and clinicians in the wind band field. As a conductor, appearances in more than a dozen countries and throughout the United States have included performances with many professional ensembles, numerous college and university wind bands and orchestras, myriad high school and collegiate honor ensembles (including dozens of All-State bands), at the Midwest International Band and Orchestra Clinic, and at World Association of Symphonic Bands and Ensembles' conferences. As a clinician, Hill has presented hundreds of workshops on conducting and rehearsal technique for music teachers of all levels and has worked with thousands of bands and orchestras and their teachers. Professor Hill is currently a Conn-Selmer Educational Clinician.

Prior to Hill's appointment at ASU, he was Director of Bands at the University of Missouri-Kansas City Conservatory of Music (1986-99), at Texas A&M University-Commerce, (1982-86), and Associate Director of Bands at the University of Colorado, Boulder (1980-82). He also served as Founding Music Director for the Kansas City Youth Wind Ensemble and the conductor of newEar, a professional chamber ensemble devoted to contemporary music. Hill began his teaching career in Michigan, where he was Director of Bands for the Traverse City (1977-80) and West Bloomfield (1974-77) public schools.

High school, university, and professional ensembles under Hill's direction have given performances for the National Band Association, the Music Educators National Conference (NAfME), the College Band Directors National Association, the American Bandmasters Association, the International Horn Symposium, the National Flute Association, at many state conventions, and throughout North America, Europe, and Asia. Performances conducted by him have consistently drawn praise from composers, performing musicians, and critics alike for their insightful, inspired, and cohesive realizations, and for their imaginative programming. 

During Professor Hill’s 39 years as a collegiate conducting teacher, he taught scores of undergraduate and graduate conducting students and served as the primary mentor for 55 MM & DMA wind band conducting majors, 8 who became conductors of US Armed Forces’ ensembles and other professional groups, and 44 who won university teaching positions.

Hill remains active as a guest conductor, teacher, and clinician, and continues to be involved with research concerning the exploration of biochemical reactions spawned by musical processes, the neurobiology of the art and craft of conducting, and the past, present, and future of instrumental music in schools. Additionally, he is a passionate lover of dog training and the sport of dog agility, and frequently weaves lessons learned from this pastime into his teaching.

Professor Hill is the author or co-author of numerous articles published in music journals (CBDNA Journal, WASBE Journal, Bands of America, National Association of Schools of Music, AMEA Journal, etc.) and in other journals, proceedings, and books, including: the Acoustical Society of America; The Oxford Handbook of Making Music and Leisure; and in the Journal Hormones and Behavior. Hill has discussed his research as a speaker at numerous regional, national, and international meetings.

Professor Hill is a member of many professional organizations, including the American Bandmasters Association and the College Band Directors National Association, for which he hosted the “Fiftieth Anniversary National Conference” (1991), co-hosted the 2019 biennial national conference, as well as the joint conferences of the North Central and Southwestern Divisions in conjunction with The Society for American Music (1998), served as president of the Southwestern Division (1989-91), and as national president (2003-05).

Attend the Concert

Saturday, April 6 | 2–3 p.m. | Weigel Auditorium

The CBDNA–NC Intercollegiate Band

Gary W. Hill, conductor

Lubos Fiser: Report

Augusta Reed Thomas: Plea for Peace

Steven Bryant: The Automatic Earth
(mvts. 2, 4)

Omar Thomas: Shenandoah

John Mackey: Redline Tango