Clinician Detail

An IDEA in Action: Composer Reflections on Their Journey to Writing for Winds

Clinic Synopsis:

Sponsored by the American Bandmasters Association IDEA Committee, this panel discussion with composers will delve into their reflections and influences that led them to compose music for the wind band.

Kevin Day - Biographical Information

Dr. Kevin Day (b. 1996) is an award-winning, multi-disciplinary composer, jazz pianist and conductor based in Las Vegas, Nevada. Internationally acclaimed as one of the world’s leading musical voices, Dr. Day’s work is known as a vibrant exploration of diverse musical traditions from contemporary classical, jazz, R&B, Soul and more. A unique voice in the world of classical music, Dr. Day takes inspiration from a broad range of sources, including romanticism, late 20th century music, jazz fusion and gospel. Across all areas, his work explores the complex interplay of rhythm, texture and melody across genres.  Dr. Day burst onto the musical scene in 2018 with his Concerto for Euphonium, which has since gone on to become a Classic FM sensation and has been recently performed by the United States Marine Band. Since then, some of the world’s top instrumental soloists, wind bands, chamber ensembles and symphony orchestras have commissioned and performed his works, including the Cincinnati Opera, Houston Symphony Orchestra, Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra, Dallas Winds, the National Intercollegiate Band, Nu Deco Ensemble, Boston Brass, Capitol Quartet, Puerto Rican Trombone Ensemble, Syrinx Quintet, Sheffield Chamber Players and many others throughout the United States, Canada, Austria, Taiwan, South Africa, Australia and Japan. Dr. Day is the recipient of numerous awards including the ITEA Harvey Phillips Award for Excellence in Composition, a Copland House Residency Award, the MacDowell Fellowship for Music Composition, the BMI Composer Award, the TCU Alumni Outstanding Young Professional Award, a three-time ASCAP Morton Gould Finalist, a finalist for the ABA Sousa-Ostwald Award, a finalist twice for the NBA Revelli Award, and many more. He was also selected as the 3rd Prize Winner of the 2020 New Classics International Competition for Young Composers at the Moscow Conservatory. In 2025, Dr. Day was inducted into the TCU Band of Fame. Dr. Day’s original opera, Lalovavi: An Afrofuturist Opera, will premiere at the Cincinnati Opera in 2026 as the lead work in its ground-breaking new Black Opera Project. The work is the first of three commissioned by the Cincinnati Opera as part of its initiative to engage Black creators in developing new works celebrating Black stories. As part of the project, Dr. Day is collaborating with renowned director Kimille Howard and librettist Tifara Brown, who’s recognized as one of the country’s leading performance poets. Other recent works include his acclaimed Concerto for Wind Ensemble and Birds in the Cathedral, as well as Ignition, commissioned by the Boston Symphony Low Brass and Unquiet Waters, commissioned by Jordan VanHemert. In addition to his work as a composer, Dr. Day also enjoys an active career as a jazz pianist. Passionate about collaborations that reimagine and advance the future of jazz as an art form, he brings his extensive musical background to the stage and studio as improviser and collaborator. His music has been featured on numerous high profile releases, including albums by Thomas Mesa and Michelle Cann, The Alias Chamber Ensemble, Jeremy Wilson, Jarrett McCourt, and Nicki Roman.  Dr. Day currently works as Artist Teacher in Residence, Composition at the Keys Conservatory at Pinecrest Academy in Henderson, Nevada. He holds degrees from Texas Christian University (TCU), the University of Georgia, and the University of Miami. He has studied composition with Dorothy Hindman, Charles Norman Mason, Peter Van Zandt Lane, Emily Koh, Gabriela Lena Frank, and Neil Anderson-Himmelspach. Dr. Day is an alumnus of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia, an honorary member of the National Chapter of Tau Beta Sigma, and an honorary member of the National Chapter of Kappa Kappa Psi.  

JaRod Hall - Biographical Information

JaRod Hall (b. 1991) is a Texan composer, educator, and performer. He holds a bachelor’s degree in music education from the University of North Texas and a master's degree from Texas State University. His principal teachers include Don Little (tuba); Dennis Fisher, Dr. Nicholas Williams, and Dr. Caroline Beatty (conducting); and Dr. Michael Ippolito and Dr. Jack Wilds (composition).  During his time as a band director, his students received perennial sweepstakes awards at the Texas University Interscholastic League Concert and Sight-Reading Evaluations, as well as being recognized at the state level. Notably, his 2018 non-varsity band at Griffin Middle School in Frisco, TX was the first middle school band in Frisco ISD history to win the Citation of Excellence, which honored the top 2 non-varsity bands in the state that year in class A. A tubist and trombonist, JaRod has performed with the North Texas Wind Symphony and Symphonic Band, 3 O’ Clock Lab Band, Carrollton Wind Symphony, Metropolitan Winds, Texas State Symphonic Winds, and the Texas State Wind Symphony - of which he played principal tuba for two years. JaRod is also a four-year Texas All-State Band member (2007 - 2009 tuba; 2010 jazz bass trombone), the maximum number of times possible for any individual high school student in the state of Texas. He served as drum major for the 2013 Crossmen Drum and Bugle Corps, and was a member of the 2014 Disneyland All-American College Band. JaRod's compositions appear on the Texas Prescribed Music List, The J.W. Pepper "Editor's Choice" list, and the Bandworld Top 100 list. His original brass choir "Silver Fanfare" was selected as a winner of the 2020 Dallas Winds Call for Fanfares and his grade 2 concert band work "Through the Storm" was selected as the 2021 Barbara Buehlman Prize winner for middle school band. Additionally, JaRod is a nationwide marching arts arranger and consultant. JaRod resides in San Antonio, Texas with his wife, Rachel (the smart one in the family) who is a medical student at the University of Incarnate Word School of Osteopathic Medicine.  

Jorge Vargas - Biographical Information

Jorge L. Vargas (born 1971) is a composer, arranger, and clinician. He holds a Bachelor of Music Education degree from The University of Texas-San Antonio and a Master of Education degree from Lamar University. Currently, he serves as a music educator at Memorial Junior High in Eagle Pass, Texas, where he directs the concert band and mariachi ensemble. Additionally, he instructs beginner flute, clarinet, saxophone, and F Horn classes. He is also a member of Mariachi Relámpago, in which he plays trumpet and guitarrón. Mr. Vargas has composed and arranged music for various ensembles, including concert band, marching band, string orchestra, and mariachi ensemble. His works have been recognized on numerous state and festival lists. Notably, his music has been selected for the J.W. Pepper Editor’s Choice list and Bandworld Magazine’s Top 100, and several of his compositions have been performed at the Midwest Clinic in Chicago.  Mr. Vargas was born in Piedras Negras, Coahuila, Mexico, and currently resides in Eagle Pass, Texas, with his wife, Adriana, a fifth-grade mathematics teacher.

Carol Brittin Chambers - Biographical Information

Carol Brittin Chambers is currently the composer and owner of Aspenwood Music, aspenwoodmusic.com, and a highly sought-after conductor and clinician. She lives in San Antonio, Texas, where she is also on the music faculty at Texas Lutheran University, teaching composition and serving as Composer in Residence. Chambers is commissioned each year to compose and arrange works for concert band, marching band, orchestra, and various other ensembles. Her concert works have been selected to the J.W. Pepper Editor’s Choice List and the Bandworld Top 100, and have been performed at state educator conferences across the country, the Midwest Clinic in Chicago, and other international events. She was named the winner of the 2019 WBDI (Women Band Directors International) Composition Competition and has arranged and orchestrated marching shows for multitudes of high school bands nationwide, as well as The Crossmen Drum Corps. Chambers travels coast-to-coast conducting music ensembles of all ability levels and ages, and she has now joined the Conn Selmer Educational Team as an Educational Clinician. Before teaching at TLU, Chambers taught middle school and high school band for many years in the North East Independent School District, San Antonio, TX. She also taught private lessons in NEISD. Chambers received a Master of Music in Trumpet Performance from Northwestern University and a Bachelor of Music Education from Texas Tech University. She studied under Vincent Cichowicz, Will Strieder, John Paynter, Arnold Jacobs, James Sudduth, and Pat Anthony.