Everything Band Podcast

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Episode 122- Thomas Fraschillo Aug 05, 2019

Show notes

Thomas Fraschillo was the longtime director of bands at the University of Southern Mississippi and is a past president of the American Bandmasters Association.

Topics:

Tom's background growing in a small town in Northern Mississippi and the story of how he got a late start as a young musician.
Some of the people who influenced his career and the wisdom he learned from those educators.
The band programs at Meridien High School and the University of Southern Mississippi.
Regionalism in school band programs and traditions around the country and the success of the major universities in the Southeast.
Tom's work with wind bands in Italy and the interviews in the ADA archives at the University of Maryland.

Links:

Biography:

Thomas V. Fraschillo, DMA, has served as a catalyst and mentor for members of the teaching profession. His high standards of performance have had a sustained influence on ensembles at every level, and his performances serve as models in both the professional or academic arena. Through his recordings, The Music of Luigi Zaninelli and The University of Southern Mississippi Wind Ensemble LIVE IN ITALY (recorded in Italy), and his publishing, conducting, and lecturing in the United States, Europe, Asia, and Australia, he is considered an international musician/scholar. His publications, translations from the original Italian of Alessandro Vessella's Studi di strumentazione (Instrumentation Studies), and La Tecnica dell'orchestra contemporanea (The Technique of Contemporary Orchestration) by Alfredo Casella and Vittorio Mortari, both published by BMG Ricordi, Milan, have put his name in libraries of the entire English speaking world. As a writer/scholar Dr. Fraschillo is a contributing editor to the American Grove Dictionary, 2nd Edition and serves as a frequent conductor and lecturer in Italy. His most recent appearances in Italy have been with La Banda dell'esercito/The Italian Army Band in Rome. One of his most significant engagements with them signaled a very important milestone for the Italian Army in that Dr. Fraschillo was the first American-born conductor to have been invited to appear in a public performance by what is considered Italy's most prestigious military concert band. The concert with Dr. Fraschillo conducting was the opening concert of the International Festival in Spoleto, "The Festival of Two Worlds, Festival dei due mondi." His appearance was enormously significant for conductors of bands in that the opening performance featured such international artists as Gian Carlo Menotti, the renowned composer, the Orchestra and Giuseppe Verdi Chorus of Milan, and the Italian actress, Claudia Cardinale. Finally, in Italy Dr. Fraschillo often serves as a member of the judging panel for many international festivals, most notably the Concorso Internazionale di Composizione "R. Marenco" di Novi Ligure, and the Concorso Internazionale di Composizione Originale per Banda di Corciano.

Aside from Dr. Fraschillo's work in Europe, he is often engaged throughout the continents of Asia, and Australia. The Melbourne, Australia, Summer Youth Music Program has invited Dr. Fraschillo to be their guest conductor for their summer session for five years. In addition the Australian Band and Orchestra Directors Association has invited him to lecture and to adjudicate at their large ensemble festivals. Dr. Fraschillo's other work in the Pacific Rim includes having served as clinician and guest conductor of the Central Armed Forces Band in Singapore and as conductor of the Singapore All-College Band sponsored by the Wind Band Association of Singapore. In 2009 and 2010 Dr. Fraschillo served as Artistic Director for the weeklong Winter Band Festival at Disney, Hong Kong.

Dr. Fraschillo has recently been recognized by election to the National Band Association's Hall of Fame of Distinguished Conductors, a distinct honor that recognizes his lengthy career as a public school, university, and professional conductor.

Dr. Fraschillo devoted a significant amount of his career to the education of young people in Mississippi. For example his ten-year tenure at Meridian High School was highlighted by a performance at the Midwest Clinic in Chicago, the nation's oldest and most prestigious music event for wind and string educators. The invitation was only the second to have been given to a band from Mississippi. Dr. Fraschillo's Meridian students obtained successes not before reached, for he taught and helped place the first African-American students in the Mississippi All-State Band. Not only were they among the first minority members, but they were also the first African-Americans to attain the very highest positions in the group.

Dr. Fraschillo has attained a significant level in the realm of international leadership in that he serves as a past president of the prestigious American Bandmasters Association, past president of the world's largest organization for band directors, the National Band Association, and President of the CBDNA Southern Division.

Episode 121 - Thomas Leslie Jul 22, 2019

Show notes

Thomas Leslie has been the Director of Bands at the University of Nevada Las Vegas since 1985. He has enjoyed tremendous success as a band director at each stop of his career and is a past president of the American Bandmasters Association.

Topics:

Tom's background growing up in Iowa and the story of his high school music teacher Charles Kreeb through his musical education at the University of Iowa.
Stories from his teaching career and a funny anecdote about being interviewed for his current position at UNLV.
Some thoughts about leadership and how we can foster this skill in our students.
The program at UNLV, commissioning composers, and the benefit of being located in Las Vegas.

Links:

Biography:

As Director of the Division of Wind Band Studies and Professor of Conducting, Thomas Leslie has earned recognition for high quality performances of the UNLV Bands receiving critical acclaim from members of the international music world including composers, conductors and several Grammy Award winning artists. Recognized for a fresh, interpretative style, Thomas Leslie and the UNLV Wind Orchestra continue to excel in their commitment to commission new works, many by the world's finest young composers. Professor Leslie has also conducted and recorded twenty critically acclaimed compact disc recordings with the UNLV Wind Orchestra. An adjudicator and conductor, Professor Leslie has been invited to conduct in eleven counties across three continents. Under his direction, the UNLV Wind Orchestra has been invited to perform for the College Band Directors National Association, the Music Educators National Conference, the American Bandmasters Association, and numerous state music educator conferences. Internationally, the UNLV Wind Orchestra was the featured ensemble at the Hokkaido Band Association Clinic in Japan and the La Croix Valmer International Music Festival in France. The UNLV College of Fine Arts awarded Professor Leslie the CFA Teacher of the Year Award in 2006. Inducted as a member of the prestigious American Bandmasters Association in 1997, he was elected as the 75th President of the of this organization, and currently serves on Past President's Ad Hoc Committee. He continues to be a long-standing member of the College Band Directors National Association and currently serves on the Board of Directors for the John Philip Sousa Foundation.

Episode 120 - Olin Hannum Jul 15, 2019

Show notes

Olin Hannum is the Director of Athletic Bands at Oregon State University and one of the hosts of the AMusEd: A Music Educator's Podcast. He joins the show to talk about the program at Oregon State and share his thoughts about developing student leaders.

Topics:

Olin's background growing up in Northern California as a horn player.
What his job at Oregon State looks like and the challenges he faces in that position including a discussion of OSU's football fortunes, the types of athletic events the band program supports, and a geography lesson.
Some of the ways that the Oregon State Bands use Google Sheets to to stay organized and to automate the mundane tasks required to organize such a large organization.
A discussion student leadership and motivation.
Olin's own compositions, the importance of original arrangements for college bands, and a brief discussion of copyright and licensing and why things have changed in recent years.

Links:

Biography:

Olin Hannum, director of athletics bands at Oregon State University, joined the program during its marquee 125th anniversary year as only the seventh director in the history of the OSU Marching Band. In this capacity he oversees and directs all aspects of the OSU athletics bands program including the OSUMB, Basketball Band, the Rhythm and Beavs Travel Band, and other campus athletics-related musical groups.

Prior to joining the faculty at OSU, Hannum was director of athletics bands at the University of California, Davis. During his time there the California Aggie Marching Band increased in membership to a record 322 participants. Under his direction the ensemble was featured at its first National Football League games and developed a state-wide performance presence. In addition to leading the CAMB he founded and directed the University Campus Band, a symphonic style concert ensemble.

Hannum is a sought-after arranger for marching ensemble. His arrangements have been performed by competitive and non-competitive groups at the middle school, high school, and collegiate level in California and throughout the west coast. In addition to writing for marching ensembles, Hannum is an active composer for wind ensembles, brass ensembles and chamber music for solo instruments and piano.

Prior to his appointment at UC Davis he was a graduate teaching assistant with the Oregon State University athletic and symphonic band programs, completing the master of arts in teaching at OSU in 2011. He also holds a bachelor's degree in horn performance from UC Davis. Performance credits include notable appearances with the Golden State Wind Orchestra, the Berkeley Symphony Orchestra and the San Francisco Wind Ensemble.

Episode 119 - Alex Kaminsky Jul 08, 2019

Show notes

Alex Kaminsky is the newly appointed Director of Bands at VanderCook College of Music. He has had tremendous success at every stop of his teaching career, including most recently at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.

Topics:

Alex's early experiences in music including Melvin Baker, his exceptional high school band director and the lessons that he learned from him.
Alex's early career and some of the experiences that led him to later success as a band director.
Some thoughts about building excellence in your band program.
How the school shooting at Majory Stoneman Douglas High School affected his band and the role that music played in helping students move on from that tragedy.

Links:

Biography:

Alexander Kaminsky was appointed Director of Bands and Associate Professor of Music at VanderCook College of Music in 2019 after a highly successful tenure at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, FL. He holds degrees from the University of Florida and Indiana University, is active as an adjudicator, and is in demand as a guest conductor/clinician across the country. Throughout his 30-year career as a high school band director, Kaminsky's ensembles consistently earned Superior ratings at all levels of evaluation. In addition to earning Superior ratings at the FBA State Concert Band Assessment for an unprecedented 23 consecutive years (the last 13 of those years being with both his first and second bands), he is the only director in the history of the Florida Bandmasters Association to have had three concert bands from one school earn straight Superior ratings at State, and he achieved this three times (2009, 2018 and 2019).

Kaminsky's bands have performed at the Midwest Clinic (2005, 2009, 2014, and 2018), ABA Convention (2014), CBDNA/NBA Southern Division Conference (2004 and 2014), FMEA State Convention (2014), National Concert Band Festival (2002 and 2012), and the National Wind Band Festival at Carnegie Hall (2009 and 2018). In 2018, the Stoneman Douglas Wind Symphony was named a National Wind Band Honors winner as one of only ten 6A bands in the nation. His marching bands consistently placed in the Florida Marching Band State Championship Finals, winning consecutive FMBC State Championships (2013 and 2014, 2017 and 2018) as well as being named a finalist band at BOA regional competitions.

Kaminsky has presented his clinic "How Can I Get My Band to Sound Like That" at various conferences and workshops, and his annual "How To Fix It" series at the FMEA Convention has been received to high acclaim, with over 900 attendees in 2019. He is a ten-time recipient of the National Band Association's Citation of Excellence and has been recognized with numerous achievement awards for education including Florida's 2019 FMEA Secondary Music Educator of the Year Award, FBA Oliver Hobbs Award, FBA Andrew J. Crew Award, National Honor Roll's Outstanding American Teacher, Nobel Educator of Distinction, Teacher of the Year, and is listed in Who's Who Among America's Teachers. Kaminsky is a Conn-Selmer Educational Clinician and is an elected member of the prestigious American Bandmasters Association and the American School Band Directors' Association. He has served on numerous state and national committees, and currently serves on the ABA Sousa/Ostwald Award Committee and the ABA School Bands Task Force. He has been featured in several periodicals including The Instrumentalist, Teaching Music, School Band & Orchestra Magazine's "50 Directors Who Make A Difference" and Home Magazine's "12 Exceptional Educators."

Episode 118 - Chip De Stefano Jul 01, 2019

Show notes

Chip De Stefano is an arranger, composer, and the longtime band director at McCracken Middle School in Skokie, Illinois. Under his direction, the bands at McCracken have won numerous awards and have twice been invited to perform at the Midwest Clinic.

Topics:

Chip's background and important early experiences in music.
The decision to become a music teacher and the support that he receives from his administration and support at McCracken Middle School.
Thoughts about creating excellence and some programs that Chip uses as models for his program.
The band program at McCracken Middle School.
Chip's experiences at Northwestern.
The value of commissions and some of the composers with whom Chip and his students have worked.

Links:

Biography:

Chip De Stefano received both his Bachelor of Music in Trombone Performance and Master of Music Education Degrees from Northwestern University. While at Northwestern, he studied conducting with John P. Paynter, Steve Peterson, and Don Owens, trombone with Frank Crisafulli and Art Linsner, and music education with Bennett Reimer, Donald Casey, Jim Kjelland, and Peter Webster. Mr. De Stefano was director of the Northwestern University Basketball Band (1994-1996) and the University Jazz Lab Band (1995-1996). In addition to these responsibilities, he assisted with all the office of band's performing organizations and had conducting appearances with the wind ensemble, symphonic band, trombone ensemble, and marching band.

Mr. De Stefano is currently in his 23rd year as Director of Bands at McCracken Middle School in Skokie, Illinois. Under his direction, the McCracken Middle School Symphonic Band has received first division ratings at all district and state organization contests of the Illinois Grade School Music Association (IGSMA) and has made multiple appearances at the Illinois Music Education Association (ILMEA) All-State Conference, University of Illinois Superstate Concert Band Festival (selected as Honor Band eight times), and NAfME North Central Division Conference. In 2006 and 2013 the Symphonic Band received an invitation to present at concert at the Midwest Clinic: An International Band and Orchestra Conference. In the Spring of 2007, the John Philip Sousa Foundation awarded the McCracken Symphonic Band the prestigious Sudler Silver Cup. Most recently, McCracken Middle School was awarded the National Band Association's Programs of Excellence "Blue Ribbon" National Award.

Since 2010, Mr. De Stefano has also served as Director of the Wind Ensemble at the University of Chicago, where he prepares the primarily non-music major ensemble for three performances each year.

As a published arranger and composer, Mr. De Stefano has received commissions from the marching bands of Northwestern University, Samford University, the University of Wisconsin-LaCrosse, the University of Idaho and dozens of high schools from across the United States. His works have been performed on ABC's 1996 Rose Bowl Halftime Show, Live! with Regis and Kathy Lee, and WBBM News Radio 780. Mr. De Stefano's works are available from FJH Music, LudwigMasters Publications, Grand Mesa Music, Kagarice Brass Editions and DeStefanoMusic.com.

Mr. De Stefano's professional affiliations include the National Association for Music Education, the Illinois Music Education Association, the National Band Association (Board of Directors, Middle School Representative 2010-2016, 2018-2020, At-Large Representative 2016-2018), the Illinois Grade School Music Association and Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia.

Mr. De Stefano is active nationally as a clinician, guest conductor, and adjudicator. He's conducted honor bands in Singapore, Florida, Georgia, Indiana (scheduled), Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Ohio, Virginia, Wisconsin, and throughout Illinois. In addition, he has presented conference sessions at the Midwest Clinic (2008), ILMEA All-State Conference (2003, 2005, 2008, 2016), New England Band Directors Institute (2016), Iowa Bandmasters Conference (2010), Nebraska Music Educators Association State Conference (2011), Arkansas Tech University Band Director Workshop (2013), Illinois State University Band Director Workshop (2012) and DuPage County Music Clinic (2009, 2014). Mr. De Stefano is a recipient of twenty National Band Association Citations of Excellence. He was awarded the Chicagoland Outstanding Music Educator Award in 2001, the IGSMA Barbara Buehlmann Young Conductor Award in 2004, the IGSMA Cloyd Meyers Memorial Award in 2011, and the Skokie Award for Artistic Excellence in 2016.

Episode 117 - Dale Trumbore Jun 24, 2019

Show notes

Dale Trumbore is a successful composer and the author of the recently released book Staying Composed: Overcoming Anxiety and Self-Doubt Within a Creative Life. She joins the show to talk about her career, her music, and to talk about issues related to anxiety for musicians.

Topics:

Dale's background and her journey to becoming a full time composer, including some lessons learned from an influential teacher.
Dale's career as a composer including her choral music, how she finds text to set, and the value she sees for students who are part of commissions.
A long discussion about anxiety and strategies for coping with it in a creative career.
Some actionable tips for working through creative blocks.

Links:

Biography:

Dale Trumbore is a Los Angeles-based composer and writer whose music has been praised by The New York Times for its "soaring melodies and beguiling harmonies." Trumbore's compositions have been performed widely in the U.S. and internationally by ensembles including the American Contemporary Music Ensemble (ACME), Los Angeles Master Chorale, Los Angeles Children's Chorus, Modesto Symphony, Neave Trio, Pacific Chorale, Pasadena Symphony, The Singers – Minnesota Choral Artists, and VocalEssence.

Trumbore is Composer in Residence for Choral Chameleon and was previously Composer in Residence for Nova Vocal Ensemble. She has been an Artist in Residence at Brush Creek Foundation for the Arts, Copland House, Dorland Mountain Arts Colony, the Helene Wurlitzer Foundation of New Mexico, and Willapa Bay AiR.

How to Go On, Choral Arts Initiative's album of Trumbore's choral works, debuted at #6 on Billboard's Traditional Classical Chart. Choral Arts Northwest, The Esoterics, Helix Collective, New York Virtuoso Singers, and soprano Gillian Hollis have also commercially recorded works by Trumbore. Her published choral works are available through Boosey & Hawkes and G. Schirmer.

As a composer who works frequently with words, Trumbore is passionate about setting to music poems, prose and found text by living writers. She has written extensively about working through creative blocks and establishing a career in music in essays for 21CM, Cantate Magazine, the Center for New Music, and NewMusicBox, and she is the author of Staying Composed: Overcoming Anxiety and Self-Doubt Within a Creative Life.

Trumbore holds a dual degree in Music Composition and English from the University of Maryland and a Master of Music degree in Composition from the University of Southern California. A New Jersey native, Trumbore lives in the Eagle Rock neighborhood of L.A. with her fiancé and their two cats.

Episode 116 - Lori Schwartz Reichl Jun 17, 2019

Show notes

Lori Schwartz Reichl has parlayed her experience as a successful band director in Pennsylvania and Maryland into a remarkable portfolio career that includes being an author, clinician, adjudicator, conductor, and speaker.

Topics:

Lori's background growing up in an extremely musical family and the experience of having her father as her high school band director.
Thoughts about how to build your community, including specific tips for working with teaching colleagues, staff, and administrators.
Tips for classroom management, thoughts about how we define success in our careers as musicians, and the work Lori does with the Regional Repertory Wind Ensemble.
Lori's work writing for In Tune Monthly Magazine and Teaching Music Magazine.

Links:

Biography:

Lori Schwartz Reichl (b. 1978) is a champion of mentorship and motivation in music education. Lori actively serves as an adjudicator, clinician, conductor, private instructor, speaker, and writer. Lori is the author of the "Tools for Educators" series entitled "Key Changes: Refreshing Your Music Program" published monthly in the teacher's edition of In Tune Monthly Magazine where she provides resources to enhance the music classroom and rehearsal space. Her articles are also featured each month as part of the National Association for Music Education's (NAfME) Music in a Minuet Blog. In addition, her publications have appeared in the Maryland Music Educator Journal (MMEA) and The Woman Conductor Journal for Women Band Directors International (WBDI). Lori also serves as a journalist for Teaching Music Magazine. In Maryland, Lori serves as the artistic and executive director of the Regional Repertory Wind Ensemble, coordinator of Howard County's Secondary Solo & Ensemble Festival, conductor of Howard County's Middle School Honor Band, and the Maryland state chair for Women Band Directors International (WBDI).

Lori began her career in 2001 as band director of Daniel Boone Area Middle School in Berks County, PA, where she received the Superintendent's Award for Excellence in Teaching. In 2006 she moved to Maryland and began her work with Title I Schools. As band director of Oakland Mills Middle School, Lori was a finalist for the Howard County Teacher of the Year and Parents for School Music Educator of the Year Awards. Under her baton, the Oakland Mills Bands received consecutive superior ratings at county, state, and regional adjudications, an Honorary Resolution from the Howard County Council, and performed as the featured middle school band at the 2014 Maryland Music Educators Conference. From 2014 to 2015 Lori served as band director for Thomas Viaduct Middle School, Howard County's newest secondary school, where she was asked to create the music program. In its opening year, the band received superior ratings at county and regional festivals and was invited to perform at the state band festival.

Lori has served as a high school band director for American Music Abroad from 2006 to 2010, creator and conductor of the Howard County Middle School Honor Band from 2009 to 2015, conductor of the Howard County Middle School Gifted and Talented Band in 2016 and 2017, and supervisor of music education interns for Towson University in 2017 and 2018. As an avid presenter at conferences, professional development sessions, and universities, she serves as a resource for building community, developing effective classroom management techniques and rehearsal routines, and motivating diverse learners. Lori enjoys serving as a consultant for school music programs and is currently working on several collaborative projects in music education.

Lori received her Bachelor of Science in Music Education from West Chester University and Master of Music Education from Lebanon Valley College. She received her Administrator I Certification through McDaniel College. Lori is a saxophone player who resides near Baltimore, Maryland with her husband, daughter, and son.

Episode 115 - Arris Golden Jun 10, 2019

Show notes

Arris Golden is the assistant director of bands and associate director of the Spartan Marching Band at Michigan State University.

Topics:

Arris' background and thoughts about having the same band director for 6 years.
How during her 18 years teaching middle school, Arris was able to bring meaningful experiences to her students through commissions and collaborations.
Building a network of colleagues and surrounding ourselves with mentors and peers who can help us grow and improve as teachers.
The transition from teaching middle school to earning her doctorate and teaching at Michigan State University.

Links:

Biography:

Beginning July 2018, Arris Golden is the assistant director of bands and associate director of the Spartan Marching Band at Michigan State University.

Before joining the faculty at Michigan State University, Golden was a member of the conducting faculty at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and served as the assistant director of University Bands. In this position, she was the music director of the 265-member Marching Tar Heels, director of the Women's Basketball Pep Band, conductor of the Symphony Band, and guest conductor with the Wind Ensemble. She also taught courses in music education.

Prior to her appointment at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Golden was director of athletic bands at Campbell University in Buies Creek, North Carolina (2008-2009). While at Campbell, she oversaw the entire athletic band program, including the inaugural year of the "Sounds of the Sandhills" Football Pep Band and the Men's and Women's Basketball Pep Bands.

In addition, Golden served eight years as the director of bands at Gravelly Hill Middle School in Efland, North Carolina. During her tenure, Golden conducted an internationally recognized middle school concert band that participated in featured performances at the North Carolina Music Educators Association annual conference, in Winston Salem, North Carolina (2010) and at the Midwest Band and Orchestra Clinic, in Chicago, Illinois (2012). The bands at Gravelly Hill also worked with numerous clinicians, including the premier of four commissioned works for band: "Kitsune: The Fox Spirits," by Brian Balmages (2009), "The Machine Awakes" for young band and electronics by Steven Bryant (2012), "Freight Train," by Pierre LaPlante (2013), and "The Cave Your Fear" by Michael Markowski (2014).

Golden holds degrees from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. She recently completed the doctor of musical arts in wind conducting from Michigan State University as a 2014 recipient of a Michigan State University Distinguished Fellowship.

Episode 114 - John Denis Jun 03, 2019

Show notes

John Denis is an Assistant Professor of Music Education at Texas State University. He has 8 years of teaching experience as a high school and middle school band director in Texas and is the host of the Program Notes: The Beginning Band Director Podcast.

Topics:

John's background growing up West of Fort Worth and thoughts about why he became a teacher.
Some advice for young teachers who might be discouraged or burnt out in their first years of teaching.
The music education program at Texas State University.
Best practices for classroom management and a serious in-depth discussion of teaching beginning band.
Finding a music teaching job in Texas.

Links:

John Denis
Program Notes: The Beginning Band Director Podcast
For Clarinets Only by Marilyn Mattei
Intelligent Music Teaching by Robert A. Duke
Bocal Majority Method Books
Teaching Rhythm Logically by Darcy Vogt Williams
Grainger: Molly on the Shore

Biography:

John Denis, Assistant Professor of Music at Texas State University, has 8 years of Texas band directing experience working with middle school and high school students. He recently completed a PhD degree at the University of North Texas and is a member of the Texas Music Educators Association, the Texas Music Adjudicator's Association, NAfME, Pi Kappa Lambda, and Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia. Dr. Denis has been active as a clinician in North Texas and Oregon. He has also presented at the TMEA Convention, California All-State Music Education Conference, Maryland Music Educators February Conference, the NAfME Music Research and Teacher Education National Conference, ISME World Conference, and NAfME Teacher In-service Conference.

Episode 113 - Arnald Gabriel May 27, 2019

Show notes

Colonel Arnald Gabriel is among the most distinguished members of our profession, having been the commander and conductor of the United States Air Force band from 1964-1985.

Topics:

Colonel Gabriel's early musical experiences and the story of Burton Stanley, the high school band director who pushed him to college after his return from serving in the Second World War.
The story of re-joining the service during the Korean War, this time as a conductor in the Air Force
Some of the remarkable events that helped shape his career and his accomplishments at the conductor of the Air Force Band.
Colonel Gabriel's most important bit of wisdom for band directors.
Anecdotes from his career, including the story of Claude T. Smith's Festival Variations and playing for Pope John Paul II in Rome.

Links:

Biography:

Col. Arnald D. Gabriel retired from the United States Air Force in 1985 following a distinguished 36 year military career, at which time he was awarded his third Legion of Merit for his service to the United States Air Force and to music education throughout the country.

He served as Commander/Conductor of the internationally renowned U.S. Air Force Band, Symphony Orchestra, and Singing Sergeants from 1964 to 1985. In 1990, he was named the first Conductor Emeritus of the USAF Band at a special concert held at DAR Constitution Hall in Washington, DC. Col. Gabriel served on the faculty of George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia,from 1985 to 1995, as Conductor of the GMU Symphony Orchestra and as Chairman, Department of Music for eight of those years. In recognition of his ten years service to the university, he was named Professor Emeritus of Music.

A combat machine gunner with the United States Army's famed 29th Infantry Division in Europe during WW II, Gabriel received two awards of the Bronze Star Medal and the Combat Infantryman's Badge.

Following his separation from the Army in 1946, Gabriel enrolled in Ithaca College, where he earned both Bachelor and Master of Science degrees in Music Education. In 1989, his alma mater conferred upon him an Honorary Doctor of Music degree and in 1997, he was further honored with its Lifetime Achievement Award. In 2012, the Mid-West International Band and Orchestra Clinic presented Col. Gabriel its first ever Lifetime Achievement Award. In 2015, he was elected Honorary Life Member of the American Bandmasters Association. In March 2017, he was named Honorary Life President of the American Bandmasters Association.

He is also listed in the International Who 's Who in Music, 7th edition. Col. Gabriel's professional honors include the very first Citation of Excellence awarded by the National Band Association, the Mid-West National Band and Orchestra Clinic's Gold Medal of Honor and its Distinguished Service to Music Award, Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia's New Millennium Lifetime Achievement Award and its rarely presented National Citation for "significant contributions to music in America", Kappa Kappa Psi's Distinguished Service to Music Award, Phi Beta Mu's Outstanding Contribution to Bands Award, and the St. Cecilia Award from the University of Notre Dame.

Col. Gabriel was inducted into the National Band Association Hall of Fame of Distinguished Band Conductors, becoming the youngest person ever to have received this honor, and was an inaugural inductee to the Distinguished Alumni Wall of Fame of Cortland High School in Cortland, New York. He is also a Past President of the prestigious American Bandmasters Association. In 2008, the US Air Force Band dedicated the Arnald D. Gabriel Hall in his honor, and Bands of America inducted Col Gabriel into its Hall of Fame. Col. Gabriel has performed in all 50 of the United States and in 50 countries around the world.

In addition to the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, among the hundreds of major orchestras and bands he has conducted are the Minneapolis, Pittsburgh, San Antonio, Memphis, Florida, Glendale (California), Green Bay (Wisconsin), York and Williamsport (Pennsylvania), Fairfax (Virginia), Puerto Rico, and Tatui Sao Paulo (Brazil), symphony orchestras, the Carabiniere Band and the Air Force Band (Italy), the Band of the Royal Netherlands Marines, the Royal Hellenic Band (Greece), the Staff Music Corps (Bonn, Germany), the National Band of the Canadian Forces (Ottawa), The Dallas Wind Symphony, the Gamagori Band and the Tokyo Kosei Wind Orchestra (Japan).

Col. Gabriel was named Music Director Emeritus of the McLean (VA) Orchestra for his outstanding leadership from 1986 to 2002. Col. Gabriel continues to appear as clinician at major state, regional, and university music festivals and guest conducts outstanding school, college, municipal, and military bands as well as orchestras around the world.

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This episode was edited on July 16, 2019 to correct inaccuracies in the original interview. For more information please see http://colgabriel.com/about.html.

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