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LSU Band Graduate Assistants for 2010-2011
N. Alan Clark
N. Alan Clark has taught and conducted at all levels from middle school to professional military bands. He received a Bachelor of Music Education degree from the University of Florida in 1976 and accepted the Director of Bands position at Crystal Lake Junior High in Lakeland, FL where he also studied under William C. Miller and Tom Bishop.
Mr. Clark returned to the University of Florida in 1979 to serve as Gator Band Graduate Assistant. He was awarded a Master’s degree in Saxophone Performance in June of 1981. That same year he was invited to join the saxophone studio of Jean Marie Londiex in Bordeaux, France and was also offered a teaching assistantship at Louisiana State University. He accepted the LSU offer and directed the LSU Jazz Band, taught undergraduate saxophone students, and served as Tiger Band graduate assistant for three years.
In 1984 Mr. Clark completed his PhD course work in Music Education and returned to Lakeland, Florida to become director of bands at Kathleen High School. While at Kathleen he received the ASBDA Stanbury Award and also served as an adjunct music faculty member at Florida Southern College. In 1985 he joined the staff of the Suncoast Sound Drum and Bugle Corps and worked with Robert W. Smith, Frank Williams, Allan Murray, Mark Sylvester, Karl Lowe, Larry Clark, Kevin Ford, and others.
In 1987 Mr. Clark entered the Air Force and served as saxophone section leader and enlisted conductor of the Air Force Band of the West in San Antonio, Texas. In 1990 he was selected to become an Air Force Band Officer and upon completion of Officer Training School, he moved to Ramstein Air Force Base, Germany where he served as Deputy Commander of the Band of the United States Air Forces in Europe. While in Europe, he conducted concert tours, ceremonies, and special marching performances in seventeen countries across Eastern and Western Europe and studied conducting with Burt Corderman, associate conductor of the Stuttgart Symphony Orchestra.
In October of 1993, he returned to the United States to become the Deputy Commander of the Air Force Band of Flight in Dayton, Ohio as well as the rehearsal conductor of the Miami Valley Symphony Orchestra. In 1995 he was selected to be the Commander and Conductor of The Band of the United States Air Force Reserve, a position he assumed in January of 1996. While an Air Force music director Major Clark worked with such notable artists as Celine Dion, Amy Grant, Vince Gill, Lee Greenwood, Wynonna Judd, Crystal Gayle, Ernie Watts, Clint Black, and others. In 1997 he edited and co-wrote “Band Director Secrets of Success” with William C. Miller. He was selected in 2001 to design, teach, and direct the US Air Force marching show for the prestigious Budokan International Tattoo in Tokyo, Japan, and to direct the Danish Homeguard Music NCO Training Course in Nymindegab, Denmark.
Major Clark accepted the appointment as AFROTC Commandant of Cadets at LSU in April 2004. He retired from the Air Force in 2007 and is currently completing the PhD he started at LSU 29 years ago.
Fuller Lyon
In 2010, Mr. Fuller Lyon completed his Bachelor of Music Education at the University of Tennessee. During his previous tenure in school, he served as Drum Major of the UT "Pride of the Southland" Marching Band for two years and earned both a Bachelor's and Masters degree in Sport Management. After completing his Masters degree in 2001, he spent the next seven years on staff with the UT Band program.
While at UT, Mr. Lyon served as principal tubist with the Wind Ensemble. He has studied tuba with Robert Nunez, Dr. Joe Hebert, Sande MacMorran and the late Neil Tidwell. In addition, the New Orleans native and Brother Martin High School graduate teaches both tuba and Drum Major lessons. During his time in Knoxville, he was a member of both the Old City Brass Quintet and Symphonic Stars Brass Band.
He is also a drill writer for high schools and the UT "Pride of the Southland" Marching Band. In 2007, Mr. Lyon, a Madison Scout alumnus, joined the brass staff for The Troopers Drum and Bugle Corps from Casper, Wyoming and in 2009 they were welcomed back into DCI finals after a 23-year absence. Mr. Lyon is presently on the brass staff of the Cavaliers Drum and Bugle Corps from Rosemont, Illinois.
Diane Nichols
Lieutenant Diane Nichols is a native of Buffalo, NY and holds a bachelor's degree in music education from the University of Buffalo. Enlisting in 1990 as a trumpet instrumentalist she has served with Navy Band San Diego; Pacific Fleet Band in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii; and the Atlantic Fleet Band in Norfolk, Virginia. LT Nichols is a graduate of the Navy School of Music's Basic, Section Leader, Ceremonial Conductor/Drum Major, and Senior Musician Courses. Commissioned as a Navy Bandmaster in 2005, she has served as the Assistant Director of the U. S. Naval Academy Band and as the Director of Navy Band New Orleans.
Lieutenant Nichols is studying Wind Band Conducting at Louisiana State University as a part of the Navy Post Graduate School Program.
Recent Wind Conducting Graduates
Doug Brown
Doug Brown served as a Graduate Assistant with the LSU Bands for two years. He graduated from LSU with a Master of Music in Wind Conducting degree in May of 2010. He is a percussionist and graduated with a Bachelor of Music Education from the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York. Mr. Brown is originally from Wisconsin.
Ben Chamberlain
Benjamin A. Chamberlain graduated with a Master of Music degree
in Wind Conducting in May 2008. In addition to assisting with the Tiger Marching Band
and the Bengal Brass Basketball Band, he was a Graduate Associate Conductor
with all of the concert ensembles. He also assisted with undergraduate conducting,
and he was a performing member of the LSU Wind Ensemble. Mr. Chamberlain
received the Bachelor of Music degree in Music Education from the University
of Minnesota. He studied percussion with Nebojsa Zivkovic, Phil Hey, Steve
Yeager, and Fernando Meza and conducting with Jerry Luckhardt and Craig
Kirchoff. Prior to Chamberlain's assistantship with the LSU Band Department,
he was a music educator in the Forest Lake Area Schools in Minnesota from
2002-2006. His responsibilities included instruction of concert ensembles,
general music, class guitar, and music theory. Over a four year period under
his direction, the Jazz Ensemble and Concert Band received all superior
marks, the highest level of recognition given by the Minnesota State High
School League. An active advocate for improvement in education, Mr. Chamberlain
worked in the music curriculum review process and served on the Rigor and
Relevance Committee, a volunteer forum of teachers and staff dedicated to
innovative excellence in public education. His work in Forest Lake led to
his inclusion in Who's Who Among America's Teachers.
Mr. Chamberlain has served as a percussion arranger, composer, and instructor
since 1995, and was a featured clinician for the Minnesota Percussion Association
Symposium in 2000 and 2004. His Drum and Bugle Corps experience includes
work with the DCA percussion title-winning Minnesota Brass, Inc. Drum and
Bugle Corps and the Blue Stars Drum and Bugle Corps. Still an active performer,
Mr. Chamberlain has played with such varied ensembles as the Big Stoop Big
Band, the Lake Wobegon Brass Band and the avant-jazz group, The Liars' Club.
Mr. Chamberlain is currently pursuing a Doctor of Music in Wind Conducting degree at Northwestern
University in Evanston, Illinois.
Dr. Rebecca Phillips
Rebecca L. Phillips is currently the Associate Director of Bands at the University of South Carolina. She
was a Graduate Assistant with the LSU Bands from the
fall of 2004 to the spring of 2007. She received the Doctor of Musical Arts
in Wind Conducting from LSU in August 2007. At LSU she served as a Graduate
Associate Conductor with the LSU Wind Ensemble, Symphonic Winds, and Symphonic
Band, in addition to assisting with the Tiger Marching Band and Bengal Brass
Basketball Band. Under her direction, the LSU Symphonic Winds premiered
Brett Dietz's Crop Circles as well as the LSU Wind Ensemble premiere
of David del Tredici's In Wartime, which was produced on LSU's 2005
Compact Disc project. Dr. Phillips is now serving as Associate Director
of Bands at the University of South Carolina.
A native of the Washington, DC area, Dr. Phillips moved to Florida in 1991
where she earned her Bachelor's Degree in Music Education from the Florida
State University. After teaching secondary school for several years, she
attended the University of South Florida where she earned two Master of
Music degrees (Wind Conducting and Trombone Performance.) While at South
Florida, she taught the Brass Technique courses, applied trombone, assisted
with the Herd of Thunder Marching Band and directed the HOT
Show Band. In addition, she was the Low Brass Instructor at Manatee Community
College.
In 2001, Dr. Phillips accepted the Director of Bands position at Howard
W. Blake Performing Arts High School in Tampa, Florida where she developed
the award winning Wind Ensemble and Symphonic Band programs. HWB was one
of only two schools in the state of Florida to have two ensembles receive
straight superior ratings at the 2003 FBA State Festival and was awarded
two Otto Kraushaar Awards for this rare and outstanding achievement. In
addition, the HWB Wind Ensemble performed in the San Francisco Music Festival
and the Smokey Mountain Festival, receiving first place in both events.
Dr. Phillips's conducting teachers include Professor Frank Wickes, Dr. William
Wiedrich, Dr. James Croft, and Dr. Patrick Dunnigan. She has been a clinician
throughout the Southeastern United States and has been a guest conductor
of the FSU Symphonic Band, USF Wind Ensemble and various honor bands to
name a few. She has performed internationally as a trombone soloist and
feature in England, Mexico, the Caribbean, Russia, and Sweden. In addition
she has performed with the National Symphony, U.S. Navy Band (Washington,
DC), US Army Band (Washington, DC), Tallahassee Symphony, the Tampa Bay
Opera Orchestra, and has toured with the Johnny Mathis and Berry Manilow
Orchestras.
Dr. Corey Spurlin
Adam Corey Spurlin is currently the Associate Director of Bands at Auburn University. He was a Graduate Assistant with the LSU Band Department
from the fall of 2004 until the spring of 2007. He received a Doctor of
Musical Arts in Wind Conducting degree in May 2007. During his time at LSU,
Dr. Spurlin assisted with the LSU Tiger Marching Band and the Bengal Brass
Basketball Band. In addition, he was a Graduate Associate Conductor of the
LSU Wind Ensemble, Symphonic Winds, and Symphonic Band. He is now serving
as Associate Director of Bands and Director of Athletic Bands at Auburn
University in Alabama.
Dr. Spurlin was previously a Graduate Teaching Assistant at the University
of Alabama where, in 2002-2003, he served in the capacity of Assistant Director
for the "Million Dollar Marching Band" and as conductor of the
Alabama Symphonic Band. In addition, he served as conductor of the Alabama
Men's Basketball Band for six years. Before pursuing his advanced degrees,
Dr. Spurlin was Director of Bands at Tuscaloosa County High School in Northport,
Alabama; and Tuscaloosa Middle School in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. His Tuscaloosa
County High bands consistently received all superior ratings at marching
competitions throughout the state of Alabama, received Superior ratings
at the Alabama State Concert Band Festival, and were winners of the Festival
of Champions Concert Band Competition in Tampa, Florida.
Dr. Spurlin received a Master of Arts in Music Education degree and a Bachelor
of Science in Music Education degree (magna cum laude) from the University
of Alabama. His conducting teachers have included Frank B. Wickes, Dr. Gerald
Welker, Kathryn Scott, and Dr. Ken Ozzello. He held the prestigious position
of Drum Major of the "Million Dollar Band" for three years and
served as principal trumpet in the Alabama Wind Ensemble and Jazz Ensemble.
Dr. Spurlin has been included in Who's Who Among America's Teachers and
is a member of Pi Kappa Lambda, Alpha Epsilon Lambda, National Band Association,
College Band Directors National Association, and Music Educators National
Conference.
Dr. James Spinazzola
James Spinazzola graduated with a Doctor of Musical Arts in Wind Conducting
in May 2006. He served as a Band Graduate Assistant with the LSU Bands from
the fall of 2003 until the spring of 2006. Dr. Spinazzola is the Director
of Bands and Instrumental Activities at the University
of Indianapolis, where his duties include the direction of the Symphonic
Wind Ensemble, Campus Band and Pep Band, and the instruction of courses
in conducting and woodwind pedagogy. His degrees are from Duquesne University,
the University of Colorado at Boulder, and Louisiana State University; principal
conducting teachers were Frank Wickes, Allan McMurray, Dr. Robert Cameron,
and Dr. Brady Allred.
Dr. Spinazzola was previously on the faculty of Tennessee Tech University
(1999-2003), where his responsibilities included the direction of the concert
and marching bands and the instruction of twelve saxophonists and two saxophone
quartets. Since 1999, he has also served on the faculty of the Tennessee
Governor's School for the Arts. He began his career as the Director of Music
at Frankfort High School in Ridgeley, West Virginia, where he also served
as Music Curriculum Chairperson for Mineral County Schools. He has appeared
as a guest conductor and adjudicator in Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Louisiana,
Missouri, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia.
Dr. Spinazzola's publications include articles published in Teaching Music
Through Performance in Band (GIA Publications). His transcriptions and arrangements
for wind ensemble, jazz band, and marching band have been performed by ensembles
in the United States, Canada, and Japan, at conferences of the College Band
Directors National Association, and at the Percussive Arts Society International
Conference. His wind band transcription of John Adams's Lollapalooza is
published by Boosey & Hawkes. Referred to by Saxophone Journal as a "saxophonist
of the first order," Dr. Spinazzola's playing has also earned praise in
Downbeat and Bandworld magazines. He has recorded a compact disc for the
Mark Custom label.
Dr. Monty Musgrave
Monty R. Musgrave served as a Band Graduate Assistant from the fall of 2002
until the spring of 2005, and graduated in August 2005 with a Doctor of
Musical Arts in Wind Conducting. He now serves as Music Supervisor of Florida's
Volusia County School System. Before his tenure at LSU, Dr. Musgrave taught
for many years in the Florida public school system, serving most recently
as Director of Bands at Gifford Middle School in Vero Beach, Florida.
Dr. Musgrave is a product of the public school system of Florida. After
graduating from Ft. Pierce Central High School in 1978, he earned the Associate
of Arts degree from Indian River Community College (1980). In 1982 he was
awarded the Bachelor of Music Education from the University of Florida.
In 1994 he earned the Master of Music in Instrumental Conducting from Florida
State University, where he was a conducting assistant to Dr. James Croft.
In addition to his graduate studies he was conductor of the Undergraduate
Chamber Winds.
Dr. Musgrave earned a reputation in Florida for excellence in teaching.
Bands under his direction consistently earned superior ratings at district
and state concert, marching, and jazz festivals. He has maintained an active
schedule as a guest conductor and clinician in Florida and Louisiana. Dr.
Musgrave has also served as conductor of music camps at Florida State University,
Indian River Community College, and at George Jenkins High School in Lakeland.
In January 1999 he conducted the Florida All-State Middle School Symphonic
Band as part of the Florida Music Educator's Clinic-convention in Tampa.
Dr. Musgrave's professional affiliations include the Florida Music Educators
Association, Music Educators National Conference, the National Band Association,
the World Association of Symphonic Bands and Ensembles, and the Florida
Bandmaster's Association. He has served in several capacities for the FBA,
including district chairman, clinician, and adjudicator. He also served
as chairman of the FBA Concert Music Committee. Dr. Musgrave's honors include
Gifford Middle School "Teacher of the Year 1999-2000", and was chosen as
"Educator of Excellence" by the US Sugar Corporation and WPEC-TV. He has
also published articles in the Florida Music Director and School
Bands and Orchestras magazines.
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