The art of conducting has been a lifelong passion of music educator and conductor H. Robert Reynolds. Through his commitment to the advancement of conducting, he has inspired countless students around the globe to discover their own passion for the art form. The Midwest Clinic is committed to continue to support the art of conducting by presenting an annual in-depth conducting symposium for outstanding selected participants.
The Institute ensemble will be comprised of members of the U.S. Army Field Band under the direction of Col. Jim R. Keene. They will perform a variety of chamber repertoire appropriate for the highest levels of personal growth and professional learning. Institute fellows are selected through an application process, which includes a professional vitae and conducting video.
Midwest attendees are invited to attend the Institute as an observer.
H. Robert Reynolds
- Biographical Information
H. Robert Reynolds is the Principal Conductor of the Wind Ensemble at the Thornton School of Music at the University of Southern California where he holds the H. Robert Reynolds Professorship in Wind Conducting. This appointment followed his retirement, after 26 years, from the School of Music of the University of Michigan where he served as the Henry F. Thurnau Professor of Music, Director of University Bands and Director of the Division of Instrumental Studies. In addition to these responsibilities, he has also been, for over 35 years, the conductor of The Detroit Chamber Winds and Strings, which is made up primarily of members from the Detroit Symphony. Robert Reynolds has conducted recordings for Koch International, Pro Arte, Caprice, and Deutsche Grammophon. In the United States, he has conducted at Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center (New York), Orchestra Hall (Chicago), Kennedy Center (Washington, D. C.), Powell Symphony Hall (St. Louis), Academy of Music (Philadelphia), Disney Concert Hall (Los Angeles), and Tanglewood. In Europe, he conducted the premiere of an opera for La Scala Opera (Milan, Italy), and concerts at the prestigious Maggio Musicale (Florence, Italy), the Tonhalle (Zurich, Switzerland), and at the Holland Festival in the Concertgebouw (Amsterdam, Holland), as well as the 750th Anniversary of the City of Berlin. He has won the praise of composers: Leslie Bassett, William Bolcom, Aaron Copland, John Corigliano, Henryk Gorecki, Karel Husa, Gyorgy Ligeti, Darius Milhaud, Bernard Rands, Gunther Schuller, Karlheinz Stockhausen, and many others for his interpretive conducting of their compositions. Robert Reynolds has been awarded an Honorary Doctorate from Duquesne University, and in addition, holds degrees in Music Education and Performance from the University of Michigan where he was the conducting student of Elizabeth Green.He began his career in the public schools of Michigan and California before beginning his university conducting at California State University at Long Beach and the University of Wisconsin prior to his tenure at the University of Michigan. He received the Citation of Merit from the Music Alumni Association of the University of Michigan for his contributions to the many students he has influenced during his career and the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Michigan Band Alumni Association. He is also an Honorary Life Member of the Southern California School Band & Orchestra Association. Professor Reynolds was Past President and the very first recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award from the College Band Directors’ National Association as well as being Past President of the Big Ten Band Directors’ Association. He has received the highest national awards from Phi Mu Alpha, Kappa Kappa Psi, Phi Beta Mu, the National Band Association, and the American School Band Directors’ Association, and he was awarded the “Medal of Honor” by the International Mid-West Band and Orchestra Clinic. He is the recipient of a “Special Tribute” from the State of Michigan, and he was a member of the National Awards Panel for the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) for over 10 years and in 2001 received a national award from this organization for his contributions to contemporary American music. He is also listed in the New Groves Dictionary of American Music, and his frequent conducting appearances have included the Eastman School of Music, New England Conservatory, Oberlin Conservatory, Northwestern University, Manhattan School of Music, as well as the Wind Ensemble at the Tanglewood Institute.Robert Reynolds has been a featured conductor and lecturer at international conferences in Austria, Australia, Norway, Belgium, England, Holland, Slovenia, Sweden, Germany, Denmark, and Switzerland. He has conducted in many of the major cities of Japan, Spain, and Sweden including concerts with the Stockholm Wind Orchestra, the Norrkoping Symphony Orchestra and professional wind ensembles in Bilbao and Barcelona, Spain. Many of his former students now hold major conducting positions at leading conservatories and universities, and several have been National Presidents of CBDNA.
Craig Kirchhoff is Professor Emeritus of Conducting and Director Emeritus of University Bands at the University of Minnesota where he conducted the University Wind Ensemble and guest conducted in the University Opera Program. Prior to his appointment to the faculty of the University of Minnesota, Professor Kirchhoff served in a similar capacity as Director of Bands at The Ohio State University for fourteen years, as Director of Bands at Washington State University for two years, and Associate Director of Bands at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee for one year. Mr. Kirchhoff was the recipient of The Ohio State University Alumni Distinguished Teaching Award and The Ohio State University School of Music Distinguished Teaching Award. Professor Kirchhoff has appeared as guest conductor, clinician, and lecturer throughout the United States, Australia, Canada, China, Japan, Taiwan, Europe, and Scandinavia. He enjoyed a long association with the Tokyo Kosei Wind Orchestra during Frederick Fennell’s tenure as Music Director and he has recorded with them on the Kosei Publishing label. Professor Kirchhoff was awarded the Midwest International Band and Orchestra Clinic Medal of Honor in 2018, was presented with the College Band Directors National Association Life-Time Achievement Award in 2019, and was awarded the Phi Beta Mu Bandmaster of the Year Award at the 2019 Midwest Clinic. Professor Kirchhoff serves as a Yamaha Master Educator.