Show Them You Know Them: Building an Inclusive, Student-Centered Music Program
Clinic Synopsis:
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) is important. This session will explore realistic and pragmatic strategies to incorporate DEI in all facets of your program. The topics will provide practical methods to help teachers understand the importance of DEI and why representation matters. Whether teaching K-12 or collegiate/professional, audience members will leave with an understanding of how to build an inclusive, student-centered music program that reflects the 21st century student musician.
Cliff Croomes
- Biographical Information
Cliff Croomes serves as the Assistant Director of Bands at Louisiana State University. He received a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in 2019 after earning his Master of Music degree in 2017 both from LSU. Dr. Croomes is also the music director and principal conductor of the Civic Orchestra of Baton Rouge. Prior to his time at LSU Dr. Croomes taught middle school and high school band in the Austin and San Antonio areas for fourteen years, most notably at Douglas MacArthur High School and Georgetown High School where he was the director of Bands from 2011-2015. Dr. Croomes is an active adjudicator and clinician throughout Louisiana and Texas and has consulted with ensembles internationally, most notably in Europe and Japan. Dr. Croomes is originally from the Houston area where his family still resides and he earned his Bachelor of Music Education from The University of Texas at Austin.
Kaitlin Bove - Biographical Information
Kaitlin Bove is Director of Instrumental Ensembles and Assistant Professor of Music at Pierce College in Puyallup, Washington where she directs the concert band, string orchestra, and jazz ensemble in addition to teaching courses in music theory, world music, and American music. Kaitlin earned a Doctorate of Musical Arts in Wind Conducting from University of Kentucky where she was a conducting student of Cody Birdwell. She holds a Masters and Bachelors in Music Education from University of the Pacific where she studied with Eric Hammer. Kaitlin is founder of the And We Were Heard initiative which matches underrepresented composers of wind band, orchestral, and choral literature with volunteer ensembles in order to generate quality recordings of the music of diverse compositional voices. Information about this program can be found at andwewereheard.org. She is also a co-founder of Girls Who Conduct, a new mentorship program that focuses on gender parity on the conducting podium. Information about this program can be found at girlswhoconduct.org. In addition to directing honor bands and adjudicating festivals across the United States, Kaitlin is passionate about diverse programming as well as commissioning and collaborating with living composers. She maintains a published catalog of arrangements and transcriptions, especially for flexible instrumentation. Kaitlin is a member of the National Band Association, College Band Directors National Association, and Women Band Directors International.
Kelvin Jones - Biographical Information
Dr. Kelvin Jones is the Assistant Director of Bands at LSU. His responsibilities include conducting the LSU Symphonic Band, undergraduate conducting, and leading the award-winning, Golden Band from Tigerland.
Jones has conducted ensembles international and nationally, including Carnegie Hall in New York City. He has worked on new music commissioning projects and has received praise on his interpretations from composers Steven Bryant, Alex Shapiro, Omar Thomas, John Mackey, Anthony Barfield, Ayatey Shabazz, Joshua Hobbs, among others.
Jones has also served as a consultant for music programs throughout the country along with presenting at international, national, and state music conferences across the US. He’s an active clinician, published writer, and has travelled internationally working with music programs. He also serves as a clinician/instructor at the Smith-Walbridge Drum Major Clinic held in Charleston, Illinois.
A huge advocate and champion for diversity, inclusion, and equal rights, Jones serves as an ambassador for the university through his service and mentorship across various initiatives and contributions throughout campus and across the country.
He is the former band director at West Feliciana High School in St. Francisville, LA. At WFHS, he led a comprehensive music program that produced numerous award-winning performances, including the 2013 United States National Presidential Inauguration Music Festival in Washington DC. He holds degrees in Music from Jackson State and Louisiana State Universities.
Benjamin Lorenzo - Biographical Information
Benjamin Lorenzo serves as Associate Director of Bands and Director of Athletic Bands at the University of Arkansas, where he directs the Razorback Marching Band, conducts the Wind Symphony, and teaches courses in conducting and music education.
Active in the development of wind bands in Latin America, Dr. Lorenzo has conducted ensembles and worked with composers in Colombia, Panama, Peru, Mexico, and the Dominican Republic. He also served as a guest conductor with the World Youth Wind Orchestra Project (WYWOP) in Austria. Additionally, he worked with bands in Kuala Lumpur with the Malaysian Band Directors Association. At home, Lorenzo has guest conducted bands in several states at the public school and university levels and professional ensembles like the West Point Academy Band.
Prior to his appointment at U of A, Dr. Lorenzo served as Assistant Director of Bands at Oklahoma State and Texas Tech University. He holds degrees from The University of Texas at Austin and Florida International University.
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