LEWIS BAND Guest Conductor
Scott A. Jones, Concordia College, Moorhead Minnesota

An ardent supporter of the “composers of today,” Dr. Jones has commissioned more than 20 new compositions for wind band and chamber winds in the past decade. Commissioned composers include David Gilligham, Augusta Read Thomas, Libby Larsen, Clark McAlister, Michael Weinstein, Adam Gorb, Daniel Kallman, Scott McAllister, Timothy Mahr, Rolf Rudin, Lowell Liebermann, Elliott Schwartz, and Shelley Hanson.

A firm believer in creating opportunities for students to interact with great artists of our time, musicians under Jones’ leadership have collaborated with artists Frederick Fennell, Eiji Oue, Aaron Jay Kernis, Frank Battisti, Seiji Ozawa, David Gillingham, Augusta Read Thomas, Eddie Daniels, Frank Ticheli, Mark Camphouse, The Empire Brass Quintet and a host of other distinguished musical figures.

A native of Fairfax, Virginia, Dr. Jones received his undergraduate degree in Music Education from The Ohio State University (Columbus, Ohio), a Master’s Degree in Music Education from the Vander Cook College of Music (Chicago, Illinois), and a Ph.D. in Music from the University of Minnesota (Minneapolis, Minnesota).

Dr. Jones was named “Music Educator of the Year” by the Minnesota Music Educators Association in 2002, and was one of three school band conductors from the United States selected to participate in the 2004 National Band Association International Conducting Symposium in Rome, Italy. He is creator of the “Wind Band Institute,” a summer workshop for wind band conductors held annually on the campus of Concordia College.

His professional affiliations include MENC: The National Association for Music Education, Minnesota Music Educators Association, Wisconsin Music Educators Association, North Dakota Music Educators Association, South Dakota Music Educators Association, Montana Music Educators Association, World Association for Symphonic Bands and Ensembles, Iowa Bandmasters Association, Minnesota Band Directors Association, College Band Directors National Association, National Band Association, Chamber Music America, and Phi Beta Mu.

CLARK BAND Guest Conductor
Timothy Mahr, St. Olaf College, Northfield, Minnesota

Timothy Mahr is a professor of music at St. Olaf College in Northfield, MN, where since 1994 he has been the Conductor of the St. Olaf Band and has taught courses in composition, conducting and music education. Previously, Mahr was Director of Bands at the University of Minnesota, Duluth, for ten years and taught instrumental music at Milaca High School (MN) for three years. Mahr is the principal conductor of the Twin Cities-based Minnesota Symphonic Winds and, while in Duluth, was the founder and conductor of the Twin Ports Wind Ensemble. He is a past-president of the North Central Division of the College Band Directors National Association (1999-2001), has served on the Board of Directors of the National Band Association (1996-98) and was a founding board member of the Minnesota Band Directors Association.

Active in over thirty states as a guest conductor and clinician, Mahr has also appeared professionally in Norway, Canada, Mexico, Thailand and Singapore. He has been in residence as a guest composer/conductor on over thirty college and university campuses and has twice conducted performances with the Duluth-Superior Symphony Orchestra. Starting with his first in 1985, Mahr has conducted over 25 all-state and intercollegiate bands. His interpretations have earned the praise of notable composers such as Gian Carlo Menotti, Warren Benson, Vincent Persichetti, Ned Rorem, Ellen Taaffe Zwilich, Stephen Paulus, Libby Larsen, David Maslanka and Dan Welcher. Under Mahr's baton, the St. Olaf Band traveled to Norway in 1996 and 2005, Britain and Ireland in 2000, and took a study tour of Mexico during January 2004 and Japan in January 2010. Additionally, the St. Olaf Band performed at the 1997 American Bandmasters Association Convention in San Diego, gave its New York City debut at Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall in 2003 and performed in Minneapolis at the 2004 National Convention of the Music Educators National Conference. Since 1994, the St. Olaf Band has produced ten compact disc recordings, four of which have received international acclaim.

A well-known composer, Mahr has written over 50 works, many of which are published for band. He received the 1991 ABA/Ostwald Award for his piece, The Soaring Hawk. Five other works have been finalists in national composition contests. His works have been programmed at Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall in New York, numerous national and international music conferences and in twenty countries on four continents. Since 2008 Mahr has premiered commissioned works with the Missouri All-State Band, the Santa Clara County Band Directors Association Honor Band, the Lawrence University Wind Ensemble, LaSierra University and the high school bands of Iowa City, IA and Bowling Green, OH. He is presently contracted for commissioned works through 2013. His compositions are recorded on the Sony, Citadel, Crest, Mark, GIA, Cafua and St. Olaf labels. He has been the subject of interview articles in Clarino: Internationale Zeitschrift für Bläsermusik (July/August, 1997), The Instrumentalist (March, 1995) and BDGuide (March/April, 1993) and has authored articles for major music journals. He is a contributor to the text, Composers on Composing for Band (2002), edited by Mark Camphouse, and his scholarly and compositional work is cited in Frank Battisti’s The Winds of Change (2002) and William Rehrig’s The Heritage Encyclopedia of Band Music (1996).

Mahr was the first recipient of a commission from the American Bandmasters Association Commissioning Project, and the United States Interservice Band premiered the resultant work, Endurance, in Washington, DC. He has received over 40 commissions including works for the U.S. Air Force Band, the Music Educators National Conference, Kappa Kappa Psi/Tau Beta Sigma (National Honorary Band Fraternities), the Nebraska and Indiana Bandmasters Associations, and a work celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the American School Band Directors Association. He is a recipient of the National Band Association's "Citation of Excellence" and was elected in 1993 to membership in the American Bandmasters Association. Mahr was recently inducted into his alma mater’s Hall of Excellence at LaCrosse Central High School.

Mahr (b. 1956) graduated with two degrees summa cum laude from St. Olaf College in 1977 and 1978 (B.M. Theory/Composition and B.A. Music Education). In 1983 he received the Master of Arts degree in Trombone Performance from The University of Iowa, where in 1995 he earned a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Instrumental Conducting.

Mahr is married to Jill Mahr, musician and educator, and they have two daughters, Jenna and Hannah.