Featured Clinician

James F. Keene
Appointed in 1985, James F. Keene is only the fourth person to hold the position of University of Illinois Director of Bands since 1905. During his 22-year tenure at Illinois, the UI Symphonic Band and Wind Symphony have been selected to perform for every major music conference in the U.S., have toured throughout the country, as well as Great Britain, and have performed in several of America’s most prestigious concert halls. Most recently Keene performed with the UI Wind Symphony in an East Coast tour, culminating in a performance at Carnegie Hall. Keene is a Past-President of the American Bandmasters Association and recently completed a term as chair of its Board of Directors.

He is also a Past-President of the National Band Association and the Big Ten Band Directors Association. For several years he served as chairman of the ABA/Ostwald Composition Contest, and is currently a member of the Editorial Board of The Journal of Band Research. In 1993 Keene was named as an honorary member of the Board of Directors of the International Percy Grainger Society in recognition of his devotion to the music of Grainger; he also serves on the Board of Directors of the John Philip Sousa Foundation and the historic Goldman Memorial Band of New York City. Recently, Keene was named Honorary Life Member of TBA, becoming only the sixth person to be so honored in its 55-year history.

All-State Band Conductors

Thomas Lee, 5A Symphonic Band Conductor
Thomas Lee, Professor with Distinction, Director of Bands, and Conductor of the UCLA Wind Ensemble holds the Doctor of Musical Arts Degree in Conducting from the College-Conservatory of Music at the University of Cincinnati. Lee is head of the Performance Faculty with the Music Department at UCLA. Before his appointment at UCLA, he was the founder/conductor of the University of Texas Wind Ensemble in Austin and was director of the graduate program in band conducting. Since his arrival at UCLA in 1985, the UCLA Wind Ensemble has received international acclaim as well as significant prominence for performances at national and regional conferences.

Lee is especially known for musical performances as well as for creative programming, balancing both traditional and contemporary literature. In addition, he has a special commitment to the commissioning of new music by American composers. Lee has been invited to guest conduct with All-State bands and music festivals in all parts of the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Western Europe, and Asia. In addition, Lee has presented innumerable workshops on all aspects of conducting and interpretation of music with special emphasis in the area of non-verbal communication skills.

Glen Adsit, 5A Concert Band Conductor
Glen Adsit is the Director of Bands at The Hartt School where he conducts the Wind Ensemble, Symphony Band, and Contemporary Players Ensemble, teaches undergraduate conducting, and guides all aspects of the graduate wind conducting degrees. Under his direction, the Hartt Wind Ensemble has performed twice at both the College Band Director’s National Association Regional Conference and the Connecticut Music Educator’s All-State Conference. In addition, they have been invited to perform at the 2007 College Band Director’s National Association Conference in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

An advocate of new music, he is the founder of the National Wind Ensemble Consortium Group, which has over 50 member schools with a mission to commission the world’s finest composers to write for wind ensemble.

Prior to his appointment at The Hartt School, he was the Associate Director of Bands at the University of New Mexico. While there, he conducted the University of New Mexico Wind Symphony at the College Band Directors regional and national conventions. Before working at the university level, he taught for seven years in Michigan public schools.

John Lynch, All-State 4A Symphonic Band Conductor
Recently appointed as Director of Bands at the University of Georgia, John Lynch administers and oversees the entire band program. He serves as conductor of the wind ensemble and head of the graduate wind conducting program. Lynch earned his bachelor’s degree in music from Indiana University, a master of music diploma from the Eastman School of Music and a doctor of musical arts degree from the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of the University of Cincinnati. Prior to his appointment at Georgia, Lynch served as Director of Bands and head of the graduate wind conducting program at Kansas University. Lynch’s previous positions include Associate Director of Bands at Northwestern University and Director of Instrumental Music at Emory University. In addition, Lynch has held positions as Music Director of the Northshore Concert Band, Atlanta Youth Wind Symphony and the Orange County Music Educators Wind Ensemble. He also has 10 years of public high school teaching experience in New York State. He is a winner of the William Revelli Award and a national recipient of the Stanbury Award for outstanding teaching and conducting.

Mike Tomaro, All-State Jazz Ensemble Conductor
Mike Tomaro has been the Director of Jazz Studies at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, Penn., since 1997. This saxophonist, flutist, clarinetist, composer, arranger, and educator earned his B.S. degree in music education from Duquesne University and his M.A. degree in saxophone performance from George Mason University in Fairfax, Va. Prior to his appointment at Duquesne, he lived in the Washington, D.C. area for seventeen years as a member of the Army Blues Jazz Ensemble, a unit of the prestigious “Pershing’s Own” U.S. Army Band. While a member of this group, he served as its Enlisted Musical Director and performed for Presidents Reagan, Bush, and Clinton as well as heads of state from around the world. Tomaro has four nationally released recordings under his own name that showcase his talents as both performer and writer.

Additionally, Tomaro has been featured on many other CDs as both performer and arranger. As a composer and arranger, his music has been performed by the likes of jazz greats Nancy Wilson, Randy Brecker, Mike Stern, Ernie Watts, Bobby Shew, Claudio Roditi, New York Voices, Al Vizzutti, and many more, as well as high schools, colleges, and universities around the world. Over eighty of his compositions and arrangements are published by Doug Beach Music, Hal Leonard Publications, and Walrus Music. Tomaro is a longtime associate of the International Association for Jazz Education, where he is a member of its prestigious resource team in the area of arranging and composition.