2011 National Wind Band Honors Project
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Stephen Peterson
Stephen Peterson was appointed director of bands at Ithaca College in Ithaca, New York, in 1998, where he currently conducts the Wind Ensemble, teaches courses in conducting and wind literature, and heads the band and MM wind conducting programs. From 1988-1998 he served as associate director of bands at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. Dr. Peterson was also conductor of the renowned Northshore Concert Band. He held positions as associate and interim director of bands at Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches, Texas and has several years of successful teaching experience in the public schools in Arizona.
Peterson has conducted throughout the United States, and in Canada, Ireland, the Republic of China, Luxembourg, and Qatar. For many years he served as a new music reviewer for The Instrumentalist Magazine. He is a member of the Music Educator’ s National Conference, the College Band Directors National Association, the World Association of Symphonic Bands and Ensembles, The New York State Band Director’ s Association, the New York State School Music Association, and has been honored with membership in the prestigious American Bandmaster’ s Association. Beginning in 2013, he will serve as president of the College Band Directors National Association.
Dr. Peterson holds the Doctor of Music degree from Northwestern University and Master’ s and Bachelor’ s degrees from Arizona State University. His ensembles have appeared before national conventions of the American Bandmaster’ s Association, the College Band Director’ s National Association, the National Association of College Wind and Percussion Instructors, the American School Band Director’ s Association, at Orchestra Hall with the Chicago Symphony Chorus, and at Lincoln Center.
Frank Wickes
Director of Bands Emeritus
Louisiana State University
Frank B. Wickes (Carruth Alumni Professor) served as Director of Bands at Louisiana State University from 1980 to 2010. Wickes held the rank of full professor in the College of Music and Dramatic Arts. He received degrees from the University of Delaware and the University of Michigan.
In 1999 Wickes was honored at LSU with an endowed Alumni Professorship, and in 2000 received special recognition from the Chancellor for twenty years of distinguished dedication to LSU and his profession. In April of 1994 he was featured in the cover story of the Instrumentalist Magazine. Additional honors include the Kappa Kappa Psi Distinguished Service to Music Medal in 1996, the Phi Beta Mu National Bandmaster of the Year in 1998, the Presidency of the National Band Association (1988-1990), the Southern Division Presidency of CBDNA (1988-1990), and the Presidency of the American Bandmasters Association (1997- 1998). In 2008 Wickes received the National Band Association’s highest honor, the AWAPA (Academy of Wind and Percussion Arts) Award for excellence and exceptional service to the band profession. In November of 2009 he was elected to the Louisiana Music Educators Hall of Fame, and in February 2010 he was inducted into the National Band Association Hall of Fame of Distinguished Band Conductors. In December of 2010 he received the Midwest International Band and Orchestra Clinic Medal of Honor.
Prior to his college teaching career, Wickes taught for fourteen years in the public schools of Delaware and Virginia. His Fort Hunt High School Band of Fairfax County, Virginia (1967-1973) was honored by the John Philip Sousa Foundation with the Sudler Order of Merit as one of the nation’s most outstanding high school programs for the decades 1960 -1980. From 1973 -1980 he served as Director of Bands at the University of Florida and in 1976 was named Teacher of the Year in The College of Fine Arts.
At LSU Wickes conducted the Wind Ensemble and taught courses in graduate wind conducting and wind literature. He also served as Director of the Tiger Marching Band. In 1997 the Tiger Band was unanimously named the outstanding marching band of the SEC in a poll taken of the SEC Directors by the Northwest Arkansas Times Newspaper of Fayetteville, Arkansas; and in 2002 the LSU Tiger Band received the Sudler Trophy for a distinguished history of marching and performance excellence. In 2008 the Tiger Band won the “Battle of the Bands,” a college marching band contest sponsored by ESPN, Lucasfilm and Paramount Pictures. In the fall of 2009 the Tiger Band was inducted into the Louisiana Music Hall of Fame.
Wickes is in constant demand as a clinician having served in that capacity throughout the United States, as well as in England, South America, Mexico, and Canada. He has conducted over 40 All-State bands and has appeared several times at the National Music Camp at Interlochen, Michigan. The LSU Wind Ensemble under his direction received many accolades from Directors nationwide for its artistic performances. Consequently, Wickes received the praise of many notable composers and conductors such as Morton Gould, Vincent Persichetti, Karel Husa, David Maslanka, Libby Larsen, Donald Grantham, Jack Stamp, and Frederick Fennell.
John Whitwell
John L. Whitwell is Director of Bands Emeritus at Michigan State University, where he served as Director of Bands, Conductor of the Wind Symphony, Professor of Music, Chair of the Conducting area, and guided the graduate degree programs in Wind Conducting prior to his retirement in 2006.
Prior to his appointment at Michigan State University, Professor Whitwell held positions at Stephen F. Austin State University and Abilene Christian University. He also taught in the public schools of Michigan as band director at Ann Arbor Huron and Northwest Jackson high schools.
His bands have performed for the College Band Directors National Association Convention, Texas Music Educators Association Clinic-Convention, Midwest Clinic, and Midwestern Conference on Vocal and Instrumental Music. He is a member of the Board of Directors of the Midwest Clinic, past-president of the Big Ten Band Directors Association, and past-president of the North Central Division of the College Band Directors National Association.
Professor Whitwell maintains an active schedule and is in great demand as a guest conductor and clinician throughout the United States, Canada, Mexico, and abroad.
He is extremely active in the commissioning of new music and has participated in commissioning projects with composers Samuel Adler, Fred Allen, Kenneth Amis, William Averitt, Steve Barton, Susan Botti, Timothy Broege, Daryl Burghardt, Michael Colgrass, Donald Crockett, James Curnow, Richard Danielpour, Michael Daugherty, Eric Ewazen, Michael Finnissy, Michael Gandolfi, David Gillingham, Daniel Godfrey, Michael Golemo, Adam Gorb, Donald Grantham, Murray Gross, Daron Aric Hagen, Sam Hazo, David Heckendorn, Jennifer Higdon, Sydney Hodkinson, Jere Hutcheson, Robert Jager, Ian Krouse, Timothy Mahr, John Mackey, Daniel McCarthy, David Maslanka, Gregory Mertl, Cindy McTee, John Moss, Lior Navok, Ron Newman, James Niblock, Robert Xavier Rodriguez, Charles Ruggiero, Joseph Spaniola, Eric Stokes, James Syler, Frank Ticheli, Joan Tower, Joseph Turrin, Michael Weinstein, Eric Whitacre, Dana Wilson, and Charles Rochester Young.
Whitwell has received many honors, including: being named the Michigan recipient of the A. R. MacAllister “Mac” Award, “Band Teacher of the Year” Award by the Michigan School Band and Orchestra Association, “Citation of Excellence” Award by the National Band Association, Distinguished Graduate “Hall of Fame” Award by Wyandotte Roosevelt High, Honorary Doctor of Laws degree from Rochester College, Kappa Kappa Psi “Distinguished Service to Music” Award, American School Band Directors National Association “Edwin Franko Goldman” Award, the Michigan State University “Distinguished Professor” Award, the MSU “Paul Varg” Award for teaching excellence, the National Federation of High Schools “Outstanding Music Educator” Award, the Kappa Kappa Psi “Bohumil Makovsky Memorial Award,” and induction into the Phi Beta Mu/Texas Bandmasters Association Hall of Fame.