Great music-making goes beyond notes and rhythms—it thrives on energy, emotion, and connection. This session explores how the conductor’s baton, the performers’ breath, and the power of singing unite to create expressive, powerful performances. Learn how to inspire dynamic shaping, deep musical communication, and passion in both band and choir.
Steven D. Davis
- Biographical Information
Steven D. Davis has inspired ensembles around the world and is celebrated as a conductor of wind ensembles, orchestras, opera, ballet, and new music ensembles. In addition to conducting symphonic repertoire of significant composers, Davis is fervently committed to initiating and performing new repertoire written by both emerging and acclaimed living composers, with intentional focus placed on collaborating with diverse artists. Praise stems from Chen Yi, John Corigliano, Michael Daugherty, Roshanne Etezady, Jennifer Higdon, Narong Prangcharoen, Ingrid Stölzel, and Zhou Long, amongst countless others.
Davis currently serves as the Rose Ann Carr Millsap Missouri Distinguished Professor of Music and Professor of Conducting at the University of Missouri-Kansas City Conservatory. He leads the Symphony Orchestra of the Youth Symphony of Kansas City, and spends his summers conducting at the Interlochen Summer Arts Camp, where he serves as director of the wind ensemble program. Recent and upcoming events include leading performances at Carnegie Hall and the Musikverein in Vienna. Davis also leads the annual Kansas City Conducting Symposium, which draws nationally acclaimed clinicians, speakers, and participants from around the country. He also serves as the artistic director and coordinator for the Interlochen Band Director Institute that debuted in the summer of 2023 during the Interlochen Arts Camp.
Dr. Jennifer Sengin is the Raymond R. Neevel/Missouri Professor of Choral Music and Director of Choral Studies at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, where she leads the graduate choral conducting program and conducts the flagship ensemble, Conservatory Singers, and the Choral Union. In addition to ensembles, Dr. Sengin teaches graduate choral conducting and choral literature. An active guest conductor, clinician, adjudicator, and presenter, Dr. Sengin has conducted honor choirs throughout the country. Future engagements include guest conducting at Carnegie Hall, and all-state and honor choirs in Florida, New York, California, Mississippi, and Missouri. Dr. Sengin has presented sessions and served as a panelist at international, national, regional, and state conferences. She sings in the award winning professional ensemble, mirabai.