2020 Program:
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Band:
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Choir:
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Orchestra:
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Guest Clinicians
Band: Alexander Kamisky
Alexander Kaminsky was appointed Director of Bands and Associate Professor of Music at VanderCook College of Music in 2019 after a highly successful tenure at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, FL. He holds degrees from the University of Florida and Indiana University, is active as an adjudicator, and is in demand as a guest conductor/clinician across the country. Throughout his 30-year career as a high school band director, Kaminsky’s ensembles consistently earned Superior ratings at all levels of evaluation. In addition to earning Superior ratings at the FBA State Concert Band Assessment for an unprecedented 23 consecutive years (the last 13 of those years being with both his first and second bands), he is the only director in the history of the Florida Bandmasters Association to have had three concert bands from one school earn straight Superior ratings at State, and he achieved this three times (2009, 2018 and 2019).
Kaminsky’s bands have performed at the Midwest Clinic (2005, 2009, 2014, and 2018), ABA Convention (2014), CBDNA/NBA Southern Division Conference (2004 and 2014), FMEA State Convention (2014), National Concert Band Festival (2002 and 2012), and the National Wind Band Festival at Carnegie Hall (2009 and 2018). In 2018, the Stoneman Douglas Wind Symphony was named a National Wind Band Honors winner as one of only ten 6A bands in the nation. His marching bands consistently placed in the Florida Marching Band State Championship Finals, winning consecutive FMBC State Championships (2013 and 2014, 2017 and 2018) as well as being named a finalist band at BOA regional competitions.
Kaminsky is a ten-time recipient of the National Band Association’s Citation of Excellence and has been recognized with numerous achievement awards for education including Florida’s 2019 FMEA Secondary Music Educator of the Year Award, FBA Oliver Hobbs Award, FBA Andrew J. Crew Award, National Honor Roll’s Outstanding American Teacher, Nobel Educator of Distinction, Teacher of the Year, and is listed in Who’s Who Among America’s Teachers. He is a Conn-Selmer Educational Clinician and is an elected member of the prestigious American Bandmasters Association and the American School Band Directors’ Association.
Alexander Kaminsky was appointed Director of Bands and Associate Professor of Music at VanderCook College of Music in 2019 after a highly successful tenure at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, FL. He holds degrees from the University of Florida and Indiana University, is active as an adjudicator, and is in demand as a guest conductor/clinician across the country. Throughout his 30-year career as a high school band director, Kaminsky’s ensembles consistently earned Superior ratings at all levels of evaluation. In addition to earning Superior ratings at the FBA State Concert Band Assessment for an unprecedented 23 consecutive years (the last 13 of those years being with both his first and second bands), he is the only director in the history of the Florida Bandmasters Association to have had three concert bands from one school earn straight Superior ratings at State, and he achieved this three times (2009, 2018 and 2019).
Kaminsky’s bands have performed at the Midwest Clinic (2005, 2009, 2014, and 2018), ABA Convention (2014), CBDNA/NBA Southern Division Conference (2004 and 2014), FMEA State Convention (2014), National Concert Band Festival (2002 and 2012), and the National Wind Band Festival at Carnegie Hall (2009 and 2018). In 2018, the Stoneman Douglas Wind Symphony was named a National Wind Band Honors winner as one of only ten 6A bands in the nation. His marching bands consistently placed in the Florida Marching Band State Championship Finals, winning consecutive FMBC State Championships (2013 and 2014, 2017 and 2018) as well as being named a finalist band at BOA regional competitions.
Kaminsky is a ten-time recipient of the National Band Association’s Citation of Excellence and has been recognized with numerous achievement awards for education including Florida’s 2019 FMEA Secondary Music Educator of the Year Award, FBA Oliver Hobbs Award, FBA Andrew J. Crew Award, National Honor Roll’s Outstanding American Teacher, Nobel Educator of Distinction, Teacher of the Year, and is listed in Who’s Who Among America’s Teachers. He is a Conn-Selmer Educational Clinician and is an elected member of the prestigious American Bandmasters Association and the American School Band Directors’ Association.
Choir: Jay Kellner
Jay Kellner is a retired choral music educator having served for 20 years at Neuqua Valley High School, Naperville. Neuqua Valley was twice named the National Grammy Signature School by the Grammy Foundation recognizing them as the most outstanding, comprehensive music program in the country. They earned Grammy Gold Signature School status seven times since opening in 1997. Neuqua’s Fine Arts department received the 2009-10 KENNEDY CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS: National School of Distinction Award for Outstanding Achievement in Fine Arts Education. Kellner had previously taught at Elgin HS (1983-'94) and Granger MS (1994-'97).
Mr. Kellner was also Founder/Music Director of the Elgin Children’s Chorus leading the multi-choir organization for 30 years. Mr. Kellner’s ensembles have toured Europe on 14 occasions, performed with Donny Osmond in a seven month run of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat at the Chicago Theatre, sung at Chicago’s Orchestra Hall, and twice at Carnegie Hall, New York. Mr. Kellner and 5 of his students have also led Take Me Out to the Ball Game at Wrigley Field. His choirs have enjoyed private clinics with Chanticleer, Rollo Dilworth, Alice Parker, Kitka, Stephen Sieck, Henry Leck, Nick Page, David Flood, Western Wind, and CANTUS. Mr. Kellner had the honor of conducting the Vienna Boys’ Choir in concert in Vienna and Barlow Girl in concert as well. Other choir collaborations include opening for Ladysmith Black Mambazo and singing in concert with the band Foreigner.
Mr. Kellner earned a Bachelor of Music from the Lawrence University Conservatory of Music and a Masters of Music Education from Northwestern University. The Kellner household proudly boasts 4 educators; his wife Sue, (elementary special education teacher, retired), and their children Molly (music educator), and Ryan (math educator).
Jay Kellner is a retired choral music educator having served for 20 years at Neuqua Valley High School, Naperville. Neuqua Valley was twice named the National Grammy Signature School by the Grammy Foundation recognizing them as the most outstanding, comprehensive music program in the country. They earned Grammy Gold Signature School status seven times since opening in 1997. Neuqua’s Fine Arts department received the 2009-10 KENNEDY CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS: National School of Distinction Award for Outstanding Achievement in Fine Arts Education. Kellner had previously taught at Elgin HS (1983-'94) and Granger MS (1994-'97).
Mr. Kellner was also Founder/Music Director of the Elgin Children’s Chorus leading the multi-choir organization for 30 years. Mr. Kellner’s ensembles have toured Europe on 14 occasions, performed with Donny Osmond in a seven month run of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat at the Chicago Theatre, sung at Chicago’s Orchestra Hall, and twice at Carnegie Hall, New York. Mr. Kellner and 5 of his students have also led Take Me Out to the Ball Game at Wrigley Field. His choirs have enjoyed private clinics with Chanticleer, Rollo Dilworth, Alice Parker, Kitka, Stephen Sieck, Henry Leck, Nick Page, David Flood, Western Wind, and CANTUS. Mr. Kellner had the honor of conducting the Vienna Boys’ Choir in concert in Vienna and Barlow Girl in concert as well. Other choir collaborations include opening for Ladysmith Black Mambazo and singing in concert with the band Foreigner.
Mr. Kellner earned a Bachelor of Music from the Lawrence University Conservatory of Music and a Masters of Music Education from Northwestern University. The Kellner household proudly boasts 4 educators; his wife Sue, (elementary special education teacher, retired), and their children Molly (music educator), and Ryan (math educator).
Orchestra:
Ray Ostwald is in his twenty-fourth year directing the orchestras, teaching conducting and coaching chamber ensembles at York Community High School in Elmhurst, Illinois. He holds degrees from Lawrence University and the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Mr. Ostwald has served on the faculties of many summer music camps and youth orchestras. Guest conducting and clinician appearances include the Ecuador National Symphony Orchestra of Quito, the Korean International Music Educators Honors Festival in Seoul, the Clark County Honors Orchestra of Las Vegas, the Indiana ASTA Orchestra Festival at Ball State University, the Northeast Iowa Regional Honors Orchestra, the Iowa All-State 9-10 Orchestra, the Northwest Symphony of Chicago, the ASTA National Orchestra Festival in Albuquerque, ILMEA District Senior and Junior Festival Orchestras, the Fox Valley Festival Orchestra and numerous other regional and festival orchestras. He was recently honored as the “2018-2019 Educator of the Year” by the Illinois chapter of the American String Teachers Association (ASTA) and received the 2017 Quinlan and Fabish Chicagoland Outstanding Educator Award. He has published a number of arrangements for string orchestra and for brass ensembles. A member of the American String Teachers Association, National Association for Music Education, the American Federation of Musicians and the Conductors’ Guild, Mr. Ostwald is a founding member of the Illinois Comprehensive Musicianship through Performance (ILCMP) leadership committee. Mr. Ostwald has presented lectures at several conferences and teacher institutes, as well as teaching a summer symposium graduate course for string teachers at the VanderCook College of Music in Chicago for four years. Professional publications include contributions to Volumes I and II of Teaching Music through Performance in Orchestra, as well as to The String Teacher’s Cookbook: Creative Recipes for a Successful Program. Mr. Ostwald has hosted twenty-three student teachers from eight universities and been a guest lecturer to music education students at Northwestern University, DePaul University, Roosevelt University, the University of Illinois, Lawrence University, North Central College and Concordia University. Mr. Ostwald is active as a violinist and violist and has performed on stage supporting Bernadette Peters, Barry Manilow, The Who, The Moody Blues, Josh Groban, Dennis DeYoung, Weird Al Yankovic, Anne Murray, Bob Hope, Celtic Woman, Richard Marx and Lena Hall. He enjoys motorcycling, and has done so in 49 states and seven countries.
Ray Ostwald is in his twenty-fourth year directing the orchestras, teaching conducting and coaching chamber ensembles at York Community High School in Elmhurst, Illinois. He holds degrees from Lawrence University and the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Mr. Ostwald has served on the faculties of many summer music camps and youth orchestras. Guest conducting and clinician appearances include the Ecuador National Symphony Orchestra of Quito, the Korean International Music Educators Honors Festival in Seoul, the Clark County Honors Orchestra of Las Vegas, the Indiana ASTA Orchestra Festival at Ball State University, the Northeast Iowa Regional Honors Orchestra, the Iowa All-State 9-10 Orchestra, the Northwest Symphony of Chicago, the ASTA National Orchestra Festival in Albuquerque, ILMEA District Senior and Junior Festival Orchestras, the Fox Valley Festival Orchestra and numerous other regional and festival orchestras. He was recently honored as the “2018-2019 Educator of the Year” by the Illinois chapter of the American String Teachers Association (ASTA) and received the 2017 Quinlan and Fabish Chicagoland Outstanding Educator Award. He has published a number of arrangements for string orchestra and for brass ensembles. A member of the American String Teachers Association, National Association for Music Education, the American Federation of Musicians and the Conductors’ Guild, Mr. Ostwald is a founding member of the Illinois Comprehensive Musicianship through Performance (ILCMP) leadership committee. Mr. Ostwald has presented lectures at several conferences and teacher institutes, as well as teaching a summer symposium graduate course for string teachers at the VanderCook College of Music in Chicago for four years. Professional publications include contributions to Volumes I and II of Teaching Music through Performance in Orchestra, as well as to The String Teacher’s Cookbook: Creative Recipes for a Successful Program. Mr. Ostwald has hosted twenty-three student teachers from eight universities and been a guest lecturer to music education students at Northwestern University, DePaul University, Roosevelt University, the University of Illinois, Lawrence University, North Central College and Concordia University. Mr. Ostwald is active as a violinist and violist and has performed on stage supporting Bernadette Peters, Barry Manilow, The Who, The Moody Blues, Josh Groban, Dennis DeYoung, Weird Al Yankovic, Anne Murray, Bob Hope, Celtic Woman, Richard Marx and Lena Hall. He enjoys motorcycling, and has done so in 49 states and seven countries.
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Host School:
East Aurora High School 500 Tomcat Ln Aurora, IL, 60505 |
