Mr. Robert Meunier |
Mr. Thomas Bingham |
Robert Meunier is Director of Bands and Professor of Percussion at Drake University where he is the conductor of the wind symphony, and director of percussion studies. He is in demand as a guest conductor, clinician and adjudicator throughout the United States. Meunier has appeared in thirty-one states, China, Sweden, Canada, and in Mexico, where he has been an artist/conductor in residence at the Conservatorio Nacional de Musica, and at the Academia de Musica Escuela de Musica Ollin Yoliztli in Mexico City. He is a contributing author to eleven volumes of Teaching Music Through Performance in Band, Teaching Music Through Performing Marches, and Teaching Music Through Jazz Performance. In addition to his duties at Drake, Meunier is affiliated with the Des Moines Symphony Academy as the conductor of the Des Moines Youth Wind Ensemble
Meunier and the Drake University Wind Symphony have released nine professional recordings through Mark Custom Recording, many of which have received Grammy Nomination eligibility status in the Best Classical Music category and have received excellent reviews in Bandworld. They have performed for the College Band Directors National Association North Central Division Conference (2000, 2008, 2012), the Iowa Bandmasters Association Conference (1999, 2006, 2012, 2014, 2019), the North American Saxophone Alliance, and have toured extensively throughout the Midwest. Recordings by the Drake Wind Symphony are featured regularly on public radio stations throughout the United States and are available on all major digital media outlets. A member of the percussion section of the Des Moines Symphony Orchestra for over thirty years, Meunier has experiences in orchestral, jazz, show, solo performance, and recording. He includes Don Rickles, Robert Goulet, the Smothers Brothers, Red Skelton, Roger Williams, the Temptations, and many others among his numerous professional performance credits. Meunier is a past-president of the Iowa Bandmasters Association, past-president of the South Central Iowa Bandmasters Association, and past-president of the Iowa Chapter of the Percussive Arts Society. He is a member of the American Bandmasters Association (elected 2014), the College Band Directors National Association, Iowa Bandmasters Association, Pi Kappa Lambda Honor Society, and an honorary member of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia. He holds a Bachelor of Science in music education from the University of Mary, a Master of Music in percussion performance from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and has pursued doctoral studies in wind conducting at the University of North Texas where he was a student of Eugene Migliaro Corporon and Dennis Fisher. Meunier has been honored by Drake as a recipient of the College of Arts and Sciences Outstanding Teacher of the Year, and as a nominee for the university’s Outstanding Teacher of the Year. He is the recipient of the 2019 Iowa Bandmasters Association Karl King-Active Distinguished Service Award. |
Thomas Bingham has been on the faculty of the University of Hawai‘i at Manoa since 1991. Previous administrative appointments at UHM have included Interim Dean of the School of Architecture, Interim Dean of the College of Arts and Humanities, and Chair of the Music Department. As Professor of Music, his responsibilities included conducting the Symphonic Band and Rainbow Warrior Marching Band and teaching courses in Music Education.
Mr. Bingham returned to Hawai`i after 9 years as Director of Instrumental Music at Lompoc High School in California, where he conducted the Marching Band, Symphonic Winds, Concert Band, Jazz Band, Orchestra, String Orchestra, and Theater Orchestra, and was founder and director of the Lompoc Unified School District Orchestra. Prior to his appointment in California Mr. Bingham served as Assistant Band Director at the University of Hawai`i at Manoa, conducting the Symphonic Band, Marching Band and Pep Bands, and the Hula Bowl Band. Mr. Bingham regularly appears as guest conductor, adjudicator, and clinician throughout the United States and has conducted musicals for the University of Hawai`i and the Castle Theater Guild. He received the Bachelor of Arts in music education from California State University, Fresno, and the Master of Arts in music education from the University of Hawai`i. Bingham has served in several capacities on the board of the Hawaii Music Educators Association, and is currently State Chair for the National Band Association. Mr. Bingham continues to appear as guest conductor, adjudicator, and clinician, and recently completed a concert tour of Taiwan with the Symphonic Wind Orchestra of the National Taiwan Taitung University. |
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