The Hill We Climb: A Panel Discussion LGBTQ+, Belonging, and Band
Clinic Synopsis:
Join the authors and editors of the book “The Hill We Climb”, the follow up to "The Horizon Leans Forward…" in a discussion of LGBTQ+ issues, belonging, and how they intersect with the band world. By fostering conversations around inclusion, visibility, and allyship, we can take meaningful steps toward ensuring that our musical spaces reflect the diversity and richness of the individuals who inhabit them.
Erik Leung
- Biographical Information
A native of Calgary, Alberta, Canada, Erik Leung serves at the Director of Bands at Oregon State University, where he conducts the Wind Ensemble, teaches undergraduate and graduate conducting, and oversees all aspects of the band program at OSU. Prior to this appointment at Oregon State, Leung was the Director of Bands at Fresno Pacific University. Groups under his direction have been featured at the Western International Band Clinic, the Percy Grainger Wind Festival, the first-ever Small Band Program Showcase at the College Band Directors National Association, and the Western/Northwestern Division Conference of the College Band Directors National Association. Leung completed his DMA in Wind Conducting from Northwestern University and has earned degrees from the University of Toronto (M.Mus) and the University of Calgary (B.Mus with distinction, B.Ed). His teachers include Mallory Thompson, Gillian Mackay, Glenn Price, Mark Hopkins, and Jeremy Brown.
Leung has written articles for the Canadian Winds and recently created the critical edition of Jan Meyerowitz’s Three Comments on War for concert band, published through E.B. Marks Music Company. He has presented at a variety of conferences throughout North America and Europe including the Midwest Band and Orchestra Clinic, the national College Band Directors National Association convention, and the World Association of Symphonic Bands and Ensembles in Utrecht, Netherlands.
Robert Taylor - Biographical Information
Robert Taylor is Professor of Conducting and Director of Bands at Northwestern University’s Bienen School of Music. As the fourth person in the university’s history to hold the Director of Bands position, Taylor conducts the Symphonic Wind Ensemble, teaches graduate and undergraduate conducting, and leads all aspects of the band program. With a career in music education spanning over thirty years, previous appointments include the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, BC, University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, WA.
Taylor received the Master of Music and Doctor of Music degrees in conducting from Northwestern University, where he studied with Mallory Thompson, and the Bachelor of Arts degree in Trumpet and Music Education from Humboldt State University. His research on wind literature, rehearsal techniques, integration of cutting-edge technology for performing musicians, and application of Ashtanga Yoga to improve body awareness and injury prevention in the training of nascent conductors, has been featured in presentations at regional, national, and international music conferences, including appearances at the Midwest Clinic, College Band Directors National Association, and on several popular podcasts. Among numerous contributions in leading publications, recent research focuses on diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging, through contemporary, socially conscious programming and as co-author of The Horizon Leans Forward, a book series that amplifies the talent and voices of underrepresented communities in the wind band field.
John Lynch - Biographical Information
John Lynch is a leading international wind conductor and a dual citizen of the United States and Australia. He is currently the Director of Bands and Professor of Music at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point. He was formerly Director of Bands at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music and Director of Bands and Professor of Music at the University of Georgia and the University of Kansas, and Associate Director of Bands at Northwestern University. He is the founder and artistic director of Sydney’s professional chamber orchestra, Verbrugghen Ensemble, and was the conductor of Chicago’s Northshore Concert Band, the Atlanta Youth Wind Symphony, and founder of the Greater New York Wind Symphony and the KU/Kansas City Youth Wind Symphony.
Dr. Lynch has performed throughout the United States, Canada, Europe, South America, Asia, and Australia including the national conferences of CBDNA, ABA and NAfME, WASBE, the Australian National Band and Orchestra Conference, Midwest, and Interlochen. A passionate advocate for new music, he has commissioned, recorded, and premiered works from around the globe with a focus on diversity. He is a recording artist with Naxos and Klavier Records. Dr. Lynch is the recipient of the American Prize, the Georgia Creative Research Medal, the Stanbury Award for outstanding teaching and conducting, and a Northwestern University Searle Fellow for Teaching Excellence. He holds degrees from Indiana University, the Eastman School of Music and the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music.
Jennifer Martin - Biographical Information
Alicia Neal - Biographical Information
Alicia Neal has served as the Director of Bands at Eastern Illinois University since the fall of 2012. As a Professor of Music, her teaching responsibilities include Wind Symphony, Concert Band, conducting courses, and graduate wind conducting. Originally from Kingwood, Texas, Neal holds undergraduate and master of music degrees from the University of Colorado-Boulder and a doctoral degree from Northwestern University. Her principal conducting teachers include Allan McMurray and Mallory Thompson.
Prior to her appointment at Eastern Illinois University, Neal served as the Assistant Director of Bands and Associate Director of Athletic Bands at the University of Minnesota, where she taught marching band, pep band, concert bands, and conducting classes. She also taught for one year at St. Xavier University in Chicago as the Interim Director of Instrumental Ensembles, and three years teaching high school and middle school band in the Humble Independent School District in Houston, Texas.
Neal has served as a guest conductor for honor bands across the United States and Canada, and has collaborated with several renowned composers including Frank Ticheli, David Maslanka, Carter Pann, John Mackey, David Sampson, and John Cheetham. Her professional affiliations include the College Band Director’s National Association (CBDNA), National Association for Music Education (NAfME), Phi Beta Mu, and she is an honorary member of both Kappa Kappa Psi and Tau Beta Sigma.
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