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2019, Shira received a Master of Music Education degree at William Carey University (Hattiesburg, Mississippi) studying with Dr. Wes Dykes and Dr. Jeremy Morgan. In December 2019, he was awarded the prestigious A.E. McClain Outstanding Young Band Director Award from the Mississippi Bandmasters Association. In his first year as Director of Bands at Ocean Springs High School, the Wind Symphony performed at the 2022 Tri-States Honor Band Weekend on the campus of the University Tennessee-Chattanooga. This fall, the Ocean Springs High School Wind Symphony will perform at the 2022 Western International Band Clinic in Seattle, Washington.

Shira is a member of the National Band Association, the National Association for Music Education, the Mississippi Bandmasters Association, and the Gulf Coast Band Directors Association. He is an active clinician around the state of Mississippi and currently serves as Camp Coordinator for the University of Southern Mississippi's All South Drum Major and Guard Camp. Shira currently lives in Pascagoula Mississippi with his husband, Patrick, and their dog, Benji. AT-LARGE REPRESENTATIVES

CRAIG AARHUS (MS)

NOMINEE, AT-LARGE REPRESENTATIVE

DR. CRAIG AARHUS is Associate Director of Bands and Associate Professor of Music at Mississippi State University. At MSU, he co-directs the Famous Maroon Band and basketball pep bands, conducts Wind Ensemble "B," the Concert Band, and Campus Band, and teaches Conducting and Brass Techniques in the Department of Music. He also currently serves as the area coordinator for Music Education in the department. As a member of the band faculty, Dr. Aarhus has been part of a team that has helped lead the band program to unprecedented growth, making it currently one of the largest bands in the Southeast.

A native of Alabama, Dr. Aarhus received his Bachelor of Music Education degree from Auburn University and his Master of Arts and Doctor of Musical Arts degrees in Conducting from The University of Iowa. While at Iowa, he was the recipient of the prestigious Iowa Performance Fellowship and was a conducting student of Dr. Myron Welch. He also served as a graduate conductor for all of the concert bands, arranged music and wrote drill for the Hawkeye Marching Band, and was co-director of the Iowa Pep Band. During this time, he was also the director of the Southeast Iowa Concert Band at Iowa Wesleyan College for one year. Prior to his appointment at MSU, Dr. Aarhus was a successful high school and middle band director in the public schools of Lanett, Tallassee, and Mobile, Alabama.

Dr. Aarhus has been involved in the National Band Association for several years as the State Chair for Mississippi (20092012), Southern Division Chair (2012-2016), and as the College/ University Representative (201618). Currently, he serves as an appointed member of the Board of Directors, helping with social media for the organization. Additionally, he is a member of several professional organizations including the College Band Directors National Association, Pi Kappa Lambda, Phi Mu Alpha, Tau Beta Sigma and the Mississippi Bandmasters Association. He is also the Past-President of the Delta Chapter of Phi Beta Mu International Bandmasters Fraternity and recently completed a ten year tenure as a Governor

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for the Southeast District of Kappa Kappa Psi. Dr. Aarhus has been an adjudicator and clinician throughout the Southeast, Midwest, and in Canada, and is a contributing author to five volumes of the popular Teaching Music Through Performance in Band series.

The Southeast District of Kappa Kappa Psi recently named their "Outstanding Director/Sponsor" Award after Dr. Aarhus. Other honors and awards include the A. Frank Martin Award from Kappa Kappa Psi for excellence in fraternity service (2017), the Clyde Muse Service Award from the MSU College of Education (2015) and the selection to the George Duke Humphrey Faculty Leadership Program (2015). In 2010 and 2011, he was a recipient of the “StatePride” Award for excellence in teaching, research, and service. He has been a clinician/instructor at the Smith-Walbridge Drum Major Clinics for 18 years, and in that capacity had the opportunity to teach hundreds of high school and college drum majors from across the country. He and his family reside in Starkville and are members of First Presbyterian Church, where he has served as Music Director since 2007.

SARA BAUMANN (ND)

NOMINEE, AT-LARGE REPRESENTATIVE

SARA BAUMANN is a graduate of North Dakota State University where she earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Music Education. She completed a master’s degree in Conducting from the American Band College at Southern Oregon University. Mrs. Baumann is currently in her 20th year as director of bands at Mandan Middle School in Mandan, North Dakota. Under her direction, Mandan Middle School Bands have consistently earned superior ratings in all areas of performance including concert band, jazz band, and solo and ensemble festivals. Her students often represent the largest number of students from any one school in the Junior High All State Band. The Mandan Middle School Band has been selected twice to be a featured performing group at the North Dakota Music Educators InService Conference. clinician throughout the region. She is the Past-President of the North Dakota Music Educators Association, and a board member of NDNBA. She serves as comanager of the ND JH All-State Band Festival and was recently appointed as an Associate Member of the International Music Camp Corporation. She was a recipient of the NDNBA Allegro Band Award in 2008. In December 2017, Mrs. Baumann was awarded the School Band and Orchestra Magazine’s “50 Directors Who Make a Difference” from North Dakota. She was a recipient of the NDNBA Citation of Excellence Award in 2018. She is a member of NAfME, NBA, and Phi Beta Mu Honor Fraternity. She enjoys performing with the Bismarck-Mandan Wind Ensemble and the Missouri River Community Band. Her husband, Jon, is the Director of Bands at Mandan High School in Mandan, ND. They have two children, Nora and Jacob.

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LOWELL GRAHAM (TX)

NOMINEE, AT-LARGE REPRESENTATIVE

A native of Greeley, Colorado, LOWELL E. GRAHAM was named Music Director for the Greeley Philharmonic Orchestra (GPO) in 2021. He previously served as Professor of Music holding the Abraham Chavez Professorship in Music at The University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) from 2002 to 2021. While at UTEP he served as Chair of the Department of Music from 2002-2014 and then as Director of Orchestral Activities and Professor of Conducting from 2010 – 2021. He is now Professor Emeritus in Music for UTEP.

Graham enjoys a distinguished career conducting ensembles in many musical media, including the Green Bay Symphony Orchestra, the Virginia Symphony, the Spokane Symphony, the Valdosta Symphony Orchestra, the El Paso Symphony Orchestra, the American Promenade Orchestra, the Chamber Music Palm Beach Chamber Orchestra, the Westsachsisches Symphonieorchester, the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, Banda Sinfonica do Estado de Sao Paulo, Orquestra de Sopros Brasileira, Banda Sinfonica de la Provincia de Cordoba – Argentina, Banda Municipal de Musica de Bilbao – Espana, Banda Municipal de Barcelona – Espana, the National Symphonic Winds, the National Chamber Players, the Avatar Brass Ensemble and the Denver Brass. In 2006 he was named the “Director Honorifico Anual” for the Orquesta Sinfonica Nacional de Paraguay. He has held numerous conducting positions to include that of the Commander and Conductor of the United States Air Force's premier musical organization in Washington, DC. As a USAF Colonel, he became the senior ranking musician in the Department of Defense.

He is a graduate of the University of Northern Colorado where he received a Bachelor of Arts degree in music education in 1970 and a Master of Arts degree in performance the following year. In 1977 he became the first person to be awarded the Doctor of Musical Arts degree in orchestral conducting from The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C.

Graham has initiated many important media projects for American Public Radio and other broadcasting organizations, as well as live telecast/web cast concerts and video productions on which his credits include those of conductor, writer, and musical producer. He is a frequent guest on radio talk shows and performed on NBC’s “Today Show” for five consecutive years on Independence Day.

In March 1995, he was honored with membership in the prestigious American Bandmasters Association (ABA), the professional association of master conductors and musicians. Membership is considered the highest honor achievable by American bandsmen; it recognizes outstanding achievement in the field of concert bands. In 2014 he was named as the President and CEO of the John Philip Sousa Foundation. In 2018 he became the 81st President of ABA. In February 1996, he was inducted into the University of Northern Colorado School of Music “Hall of Honor.” This distinction was bestowed on only 18 alumni and faculty who have achieved greatness as musician, educators, and humanitarians in the school’s first 100 years. He received The Catholic University of America’s 1998 Alumni Achievement Award in the field of Music. This award, which is presented annually by the Board of Governors Alumni Association, recognized his accomplishments, and honored him for his life’s work. In 1999 he received the

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University of Northern Colorado Alumni Association Honored Alumni Award in the category of “Contributions to Music.”

In 2001, he was the recipient of the Award of Distinction for Contributions to Music Education from the Illinois Music Educators Association. The two previous recipients were Sir Georg Solti and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Merle J. Isaac. In 2003 he was the recipient of the Phi Beta Mu International Outstanding Bandmaster Award. In 2008, he was honored by the American School Band Directors Association with the A. Austin Harding Award for “making significant and lasting contributions to the school band movement.” In 2013 the University of Northern Colorado Graduate School honored him with the “Century of Scholars Award” in performance representing excellence and achievement in the previous 100 years of the Graduate School. He was inducted into the “Hall of Fame” for the Texas Bandmasters Association in 2019. Graham actively serves as an Educational Clinician for Conn-Selmer Education Division and was inducted into the ConnSelmer “Hall of Fame” in 2021. Additionally, in 2021 he was named to the National Band Association’s “Hall of Fame for Distinguished Conductors.”

Graham has released recordings on six labels – Naxos, Telarc, Klavier, Mark, Altissimo and Wilson -- that have been recognized for both their artistic and sonic excellence. These recordings have been recognized in Stereophile’s “Records to DieFor” list, The Absolute Sound’s “The Super Disc List,” as well as one having won a Grammy.

MARK HEIDEL (IA)

NOMINEE, AT-LARGE REPRESENTATIVE

Richard Mark Heidel is Director of Bands and Professor of Music in the School of Music at the University of Iowa where he conducts the Iowa Symphony Band, teaches graduate courses in conducting and band literature, guides the graduate band conducting program, and oversees all aspects of the University of Iowa band program. Ensembles under Dr. Heidel’s direction have performed at national, regional, and state conferences including those of the College Band Directors National Association, Music Educators National Conference, Iowa Bandmasters Association, Wisconsin Music Educators Association, Illinois Music Educators Association, and National Band AssociationWisconsin Chapter. He has also led concert tours to the Republic of Ireland and the United Kingdom as well as throughout the Midwest. A native of Texas, Dr. Heidel holds the Bachelor of Music Education and Master of Music in Conducting from Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Texas as well as the Doctor of Education in Music Education from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. His principal teachers include James F. Keene, James Sudduth, Gary Smith, Keith Bearden, Donald Schleicher, John Grashel, Eunice Boardman, Richard Tolley, and Michael Ewald. Prior to his appointment to the University of Iowa faculty in 2008, Dr. Heidel served as Director of Bands at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania, and as a teaching assistant in the School of Music at the University of Illinois. In addition to his university teaching experiences, Heidel taught in Texas for nine years serving as Director of Bands at Muleshoe High School, Levelland High School, and Monterey High School in Lubbock.

Dr. Heidel has been distinguished with memberships in numerous national and international honor societies and fraternities including Phi

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Mu Alpha Sinfonia, Pi Kappa Lambda, Kappa Kappa Psi, Phi Eta Sigma, Phi Kappa Phi, Kappa Delta Pi, Pi Nu Epsilon, and Golden Key. He was the recipient of the Outstanding Musician award at Texas Tech University in both 1985 and 1986, and in 1997, he received the A. A. Harding award at the University of Illinois for the "highest possible achievement, service, and devotion to the University Bands." In 2002, Dr. Heidel was named to the "Who's Who Among America's Teachers," and in 2003 and 2010 he received the Citation of Excellence from the Wisconsin Chapter of the National Band Association. In 2005, he was initiated into Sigma Alpha Iota as a National Arts Associate, and in 2008, he was elected to membership into the prestigious American Bandmasters Association. Dr. Heidel received the Collegiate Teaching Award from the UI College of Liberal Arts and Sciences in 2012, and a Citation of Excellence from the National Band Association in 2016. Dr. Heidel has presented clinics and workshops at state music conferences and universities in Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Mexico, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming, and he has appeared as guest conductor and clinician in more than 35 states, Washington, D.C., and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Manitoba. In 2003, Heidel served as an adjudicator for the Limerick International Marching Band Competition and the 100th St. Patrick’s Day Festival in Dublin, Ireland. Dr. Heidel was the conductor of the Asia Pacific Activities Conference APAC Band in Hanoi, Vietnam in 2016, and conductor of the Association of Music in International Schools High School Honor Band in Salzburg, Austria in 2019. Heidel has three commercial compact discs to his credit including Martyrs for the Faith featuring Kenneth Tse, saxophone with the Iowa Symphony Band released by MSR Classics in 2012, TRADITION featuring live performances of the Iowa Symphony Band released by Equilibrium in 2017, and The Voxman Project: Chamber Music of O’Riordan, Weill, and Milhaud released by Crystal Records in 2021.

His summer teaching experiences include serving as a faculty member of the Shell Lake Arts Center (WI), Texas Tech University Band and Orchestra Camp, Illinois Summer Youth Music Program, and the International Music Camp. His list of publications includes more than 30 articles in the National Band Association Journal, Teaching Music, Teaching Music Through Performance in Band, Illinois Music Educator, and Iowa Music Educator. Dr. Heidel currently serves on the Board of Directors of the National Band Association and American Bandmasters Association, is the State of Iowa Representative for the College Band Directors National Association, and is Past President of the Big Ten Band Directors Association.

DIANE KOUTSULIS (NV)

NOMINEE, AT-LARGE REPRESENTATIVE

DIANE KOUTSULIS is the recently retired Director of Bands and Arts Department Chair at Green Valley High School. Originally from Chicago, Diane taught in the Clark County School District for 35 years. She received a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Music from Western Illinois University, studying with Christopher Izzo. After teaching junior high band in Oswego, Illinois, for three years, she went on to complete the Masters of Music Education degree at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, where she studied with Frank Wickes.

During her tenure in Las Vegas, Diane has built fine band

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programs and music departments at both Las Vegas High School (1982-91) and Green Valley High School (1991-2017). Her groups have consistently garnered recognition for fine performances and she has served as both guest clinician and conductor at various conferences and honor bands throughout the United States. Diane was named the 1999 Nevada Teacher of the Year and received the 1999 Milken Family Foundation National Educator Award. A member of the Clark County School District Teacher Hall of Fame, in March of 2003, she was inducted into the Nevada State Education Hall of Fame. In 2004, the Green Valley High School Symphonic Band performed at the Midwest Clinic in Chicago, IL. In 2005 and 2010, the Symphonic Band performed at Carnegie Hall in New York City. The Green Valley High School Marching Band performed in the 2010 Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City, as well as the 2009 and 1993 Presidential Inaugural Parades. Diane is a member of the National Band Association (NBA) as well as holding memberships in the National Association for Music Education (NAfME), College Band Directors National Association (CBDNA) and Phi Beta Mu. Diane is very honored to be a member of the prestigious American Bandmasters Association (ABA) since 2015, and was recently awarded the John Philip Sousa Foundation Legion of Honor.

JIM LITTLE (TX)

NOMINEE, AT-LARGE REPRESENTATIVE

JIM LITTLE is a 1966 graduate of Eastern New Mexico University where he earned a Bachelor of Music Education degree, and a 1970 graduate of the University of South Florida where he earned a Masters Degree in Music Education. He has also completed extensive studies in Educational Supervision and Administration at West Texas State University. Following his graduation from Eastern New Mexico University, Mr. Little enlisted in the United States Air Force and served as a trumpet player and bugler with the 589th USAF Band in Amarillo AFB, Texas and MacDill AFB, Florida. Mr. Little began his teaching career as a band director in Stanley, North Carolina at Stanley High School and East Gaston High School (a consolidation of Stanley and Mt. Holly high schools), followed by head director positions at Bovina, Texas (19761980), Perryton, Texas (19801986), Colorado Springs, Colorado (1986-1989), and Liberal, Kansas (1989-2006) where he was Director of Bands at Liberal High School and Coordinator of Instrumental Music for USD 480, followed by five years as LHS Assistant Principal and three years as high school principal until his retirement in 2006.

Mr. Little first joined NBA while serving as a USAF Bandsman. During his membership he has served as a state chair for 23 years in North Carolina and Texas. He currently serves as Texas State Chair of NBA, having been appointed to that position in 2015. He also served as the Organizer for the NBA National High School Honors Band, conducted by Colonel Arnald Gabriel, in 1982, and was assistant director of the National Jamboree Boy Scout Band in 1985 and 1989.

In addition to his service to NBA, Mr. Little has been a member of the trumpet section of the Lake Country Symphonic Band (Mineola) since 2011, and also serves as a bugler with Taps for Veterans, Bugles Across America, and the East Texas Patriot Guard Riders.

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MATTHEW MCCUTCHEN (FL)

NOMINEE, AT-LARGE REPRESENTATIVE

MATTHEW MCCUTCHEN has served on the University of South Florida (USF) Music Faculty since 2009, first as the Director of Athletic Bands for nine years, and now as Director of Bands since 2018. His responsibilities at USF include conducting the Wind Ensemble and teaching graduate and undergraduate courses in Conducting, Wind Band Literature, and Music Education.

McCutchen earned a PhD in Music Education with an emphasis in Instrumental Conducting from Florida State University, a Master of Music in Conducting from Virginia Commonwealth University, and a Bachelor of Music Education degree from Furman University. Prior to coming to USF he taught middle school in Georgia, high school in Virginia, and served as an adjunct instructor at Virginia Commonwealth University for several semesters

McCutchen is active as a guest conductor, and clinician. He is the Artistic Director and Conductor of the Florida Wind Band, and the Founder and Conductor of the Bay Area Youth (BAY) Winds, which features many of the finest high school musicians throughout the Tampa Area. He has been published in the National Band Association’s NBA Journal, the 7th and 8th editions and the “Solos with Wind Band Accompaniment” editions of the Teaching Music Through Performance in Band series, The Instrumentalist magazine, VMEA Notes, and the Florida Music Director. He is the Chair of the National Band Association’s William D. Revelli Memorial Band Composition Contest Committee, is a member of the John Philip Sousa Foundation Legion of Honor Selection Committee, and holds memberships in numerous national and statewide professional organizations.

In March 2022, McCutchen received the prestigious honor of membership in the American Bandmasters Association (ABA), the professional association of master conductors and musicians. ABA membership is considered the highest honor achievable by American bandsmen; it recognizes outstanding achievement in the field of concert bands.

DON SCHOFIELD (MD)

NOMINEE, AT-LARGE REPRESENTATIVE

COLONEL DON SCHOFIELD is the Commander and Conductor of The United States Air Force Band in Washington, DC. He is responsible for all activities of this 184-member unit including equipping, training and deploying Airmen musicians to perform nearly 1,600 missions each year at locations such as The White House, Arlington National Cemetery, the Kennedy Center, and venues throughout the world for the President of the United States, world leaders, and dignitaries.

Colonel Schofield was born in Atlanta, Georgia and received his Bachelor’s Degree in Music Education from the University of Georgia, his Master’s Degree in Instrumental Conducting from Louisiana State University, and his Doctorate of Musical Arts in Music Education from Boston University. Prior to receiving his commission at Officer Training

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School in 1997, Colonel Schofield taught at Hardaway High School in Columbus, Georgia and Effingham County High School in Springfield, Georgia where he led a 275-member comprehensive band program to national and regional recognition. His previous commands include the United States Air Forces in Europe Band in Germany, the United States Air Force Academy Band at the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado, the Band of the Air Force Reserve at Robins Air Force Base, Georgia, and the Band of MidAmerica at Scott Air Force Base, Illinois. Colonel Schofield also served as the Deputy Commander, 11th Operations Group at Joint Base Andrews, and the Director of Operations for The United States Air Force Band in Washington, D.C. In 2007, he led the United States Air Force Central Command Band, where he planned and led overseas performances for United States and coalition forces in Iraq, Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Africa, Kyrgyzstan, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, and Bahrain in direct support of combat operations IRAQI FREEDOM and ENDURING FREEDOM.

Colonel Schofield has conducted military bands, professional orchestras, and school bands throughout the United States, Puerto Rico, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Estonia, France, Germany, Luxembourg, Poland, Sweden, and Ukraine. An advocate for new music, he has commissioned and premiered 41 works for wind band, orchestra, and choir from such composers as Eric Whitacre, Jim David, Kevin Day, Stephen Bryant, James Stephenson, Kim Archer, Jim Barnes, Shawn Okpebholo, and Johan de Meij. During the COVID pandemic, Colonel Schofield continued public and educational concerts with The United States Air Force Band by conducting and producing more that 300 broadcast and video products to connect with audiences worldwide, to include interactive educational livestream broadcasts viewed by more than 200,000 students. He has led international performances with artists such as Joshua Bell, Frank Tichelli, Dianne Shuur, Kid Rock, Little Big Town, Wycliffe Gordon, Kelly Pickler, Lee Greenwood, Chris Daughtry, the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, Christopher Jackson, Lonestar, Wynonna Judd, Amy Grant, Take 6, Diamond Rio, the Miracles, Gordon Goodwin, Allen Vizzutti, Megan Hilty, and Yuri Mynenko. Colonel Schofield has been recognized by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences as a two-time Emmy Award Top Four Finalist for his musical leadership during internationally broadcast productions at the Grand Ole Opry.

Colonel Schofield’s leadership has been recognized by the United States Air Force by being named the United States Air Forces in Europe’s Public Affairs Communication Excellence Field Grade Officer of the Year, the United States Air Force Academy’s Public Affairs Field Grade Officer of the Year, the Air Force Reserve Command’s Public Affairs Field Grade Officer of the Year, Air Mobility Command’s Band Officer of the Year, and Air Force Materiel Command’s Band Officer of the Year. Under his command, the United States Air Forces in Europe Band was named the winner of the 2017 Brigadier General Dalton Award for the Best Public Affairs Unit in the United States Air Force. In 2021, The USAF Band was awarded the Telley Award for the Most Viral Video in the World, reaching more than 200 million views with a broadcast recording featuring Lee Greenwood and Home Free. Colonel Schofield’s contributions resulted in The United States Air Force Band, the United States Air Force Academy Band, and the Band of Mid-America being awarded the Colonel George S. Howard Citation of Musical Excellence for military concert bands.

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COREY SPURLIN (AL)

NOMINEE, AT-LARGE REPRESENTATIVE

DR. COREY SPURLIN serves as Associate Director of Bands, Marching Band Director, and Professor of Music at Auburn University. In addition to his leadership of the athletic band program at Auburn, he conducts the Concert Band, is associate conductor of the Auburn Symphonic Winds, and teaches courses in undergraduate and graduate conducting, wind band literature, and graduate instrumental leadership. For the past six years, Dr. Spurlin has served as the Southern Division Chair for the National Band Association, and previously served for seven years as the NBA state chair for Alabama. As NBA Southern Division Chair, he has administered NBA’s responsibilities for three NBA/CBDNA southern division conferences. He has also served on additional NBA ad hoc committees to address collegiate chapters and marching band citation awards. Dr. Spurlin is also a member of Phi Beta Mu International Band Fraternity and CBDNA, for which he has served on the athletic band committee for five years.

In addition to his work at Auburn and for professional organizations, Dr. Spurlin is active throughout the U.S. as a conducting and marching band clinician and adjudicator. He has conducted the Alabama AllState Blue Band; collegiate honor bands at the University of Georgia (JanFest), West Virginia University, and Southern Illinois University; and he served as a marching band adjudicator for the University of Illinois, University of Missouri, Washington State University, BYU, Eastern New Mexico University, and for UIL Texas State Finals. He has served as a guest lecturer and/or conductor at the University of Oklahoma, University of West Virginia, Georgia State University, Ohio State University, University of Alabama Birmingham, University of Texas Wesleyan, University of Texas at Arlington, Eastern New Mexico University, and the University of Akron. He is published in six volumes of Teaching Music Through Performance in Band, twice in the National Band Association Journal, and he is a contributing author for the marching band textbook The System by Gary Smith. He has presented twelve times at the CBDNA Athletic Band Symposium, co-presented at the Midwest Clinic, presented twice for the Reach Through Music series, and was as a feature guest for Music for All Lunchtime Chats. In addition, he serves as the head drill design clinician and lecturer at the Smith Walbridge Camps at Eastern Illinois University.

Prior to his appointment at Auburn, Dr. Spurlin received the Doctor of Musical Arts degree in wind conducting from Louisiana State University, where he studied with Frank B. Wickes, and the Master of Arts and Bachelor of Science degrees in music education from the University of Alabama. He served as a Graduate Assistant for the Band Department at LSU where he assisted with the Tiger Marching Band and “Bengal Brass” Pep Band. In addition, he was Graduate Associate Conductor of the LSU Wind Ensemble, Symphonic Winds, and Symphonic Band. Previously, he served as a Graduate Teaching Assistant at the University of Alabama where, in 2002-2003, he was Acting Assistant Director for the Marching Band and conductor of the Alabama Symphonic Band. In addition, he served as conductor of the Alabama Men’s Basketball Band for six years. Before pursuing his advanced degrees, Dr. Spurlin was Director of Bands at Tuscaloosa County High School in Northport, Alabama and Tuscaloosa Middle School in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.

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KERRY TAYLOR (TX)

NOMINEE, AT-LARGE REPRESENTATIVE

KERRY TAYLOR currently serves as Director of Bands for Westlake High School-Eanes ISD and Fine Arts Director of Eanes ISD. Mr. Taylor is in his 40th year as a band director in Texas public schools. He holds a Bachelor of Music Education degree and a Master of Music degree from the University of Texas at Austin. Under Mr. Taylor's direction, the Westlake Band has won or placed highly in numerous concert band and marching festivals, including 32 consecutive UIL Sweepstakes Awards. The Westlake Wind Ensemble has performed twice at the Midwest Clinic in Chicago, four times in Carnegie Hall and once each for the American Bandmasters Association and the World Association of Symphonic Bands and Ensembles. In 1999, the John Philip Sousa Foundation presented the Westlake Band with the “Sudler Flag of Honor” for excellence in concert band and, in 2011, the “Sudler Shield” for marching band excellence. The Westlake Chaparral Marching Band has performed twice (2003 and 2017) in the Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena. In 2017, the Westlake program was recognized by Phi Beta Mu International Band Fraternity as a “Program of Distinction” and in 2022 the program was named the Texas Bandmasters Association “Program of Distinction.” Mr. Taylor is active as a clinician and adjudicator in Texas and across the US. He is the current President of the American Bandmasters Association and is a Past-President of the Texas Music Educators Association. He has been recognized by the University Interscholastic League with the Sponsor of Excellence Award, the John Philip Sousa Foundation as a Legion of Honor Laureate and the Texas Bandmasters Association with the Meritorious Achievement Award for Outstanding Contribution to Music Education. He and his wife Valerie, a long-time educator in Eanes ISD and a current PhD candidate in Curriculum and Instruction at the University of Texas, are the proud parents of two sons; Brian, a DMA candidate at Michigan State University and Sean, a recent graduate of the University of Dallas currently working as an Design Architect in Austin and his wife Sarah, a graduate in Marketing of the University of WisconsinMilwaukee.