Performances and news
April 26, 2024
The World Premiere performance of Perches in the Soul, a new 4-movement symphony written for the Southwestern Oklahoma State University Wind Symphony by composer Benjamin N. Brody is the featured piece for the SWOSU Wind Symphony concert The American Condition in the Fine Arts Auditorium at 7:00 pm.
Also featured on the concert are other works by American composers: American Overture by Joseph Wilcox Jenkins, National Emblem by E.E. Bailey, An American Elegy by Frank Ticheli, and In Living Color by Katahj Copley.
We are excited to welcome the Clinton High School Band and director of bands Summer Morgan to SWOSU to share the stage with us for a side-by-side concert. It is wonderful to have these high school students on our campus!
January 13-14, 2024
I am presenting two sessions at the Hawai’i Music Educator’s Association In-Service Conference. The first session on Saturday is “Rehearsing With Trust, Connection, and Joy from the Podium.” The second session “Are We Missing The Mark?: An Analysis of Band Repertoire in Relation to the National Core Arts Standards,” is a presentation of my DMA research project, with time at the end for a discussion on this topic.
December 11, 2023
Here’s a LONG OVERDUE update on this fall:
We have completed the new band consortium for composer Robert Langenfeld, and the world premiere was performed by the SWOSU Symphonic Band on November 29, 2023. There were 15 members in this consortium that supported the creation of a new 2-movement work for band and electronics. Duality is a wonderful piece written for younger or smaller bands with a sound track written to enhance the band’s performance with electronic musical sounds. I love this piece! The electronics work well with the band without overshadowing the players. It is easy to set up the electronic interface, it can be conducted with or without a click track for the conductor, and can be performed using a simple P.A. system.
I am excited to announce we will be performing another world premiere on April 26, 2024! Perches in the Soul: Symphony for Band is a four-movement work by composer Benjamin N. Brody. I love the sound world Benjamin creates in his music, and this challenging piece is a magnificent expression utilizing a variety of styles and textures that I believe will be as enjoyable for the audience to experience as it will be for the band to perform! We will have a live stream for this event. Check the SWOSU Music Department and SWOSU Pride of the Great Southwest Facebook pages for links.
The Phil Collins Experience has been busy in 2023, and we are ramping up for 2024! We finished out our 2023 season with incredible shows at the beautiful and historic Uptown Theater in Kansas City, and The Cotillion in Wichita. 2023 had us touring the country in various places, but most notably Baltimore, Philadelphia, New Jersey, Norfolk, the Chicago area, and other locations throughout the midwest. We begin 2024 on January 27 with a performance near St. Louis at The Wildey Theatre in Edwardsville, then immediately embark on a tour of Florida playing The Orange Blossom Opry, The Maltz Jupiter Theatre (on Phil Collins’ birthday!), ending with a fun show at The Key West Theater. In March, we will be returning to the Chicago area with shows at The Arcada in St. Charles and the Des Plaines Theatre in Des Plaines, where we always have a great show and the audience is crazy! In April, we are back in Kansas City at The Voodoo Lounge at Harrah’s. We are still booking other shows, and hoping to get back to the east coast and go international this year! Keep your eyes out for a show near you!
February 17, 2023
Join us at 7:00 pm in the Auditorium in the Fine Arts Building on the SWOSU campus for our first concert of the spring semester with the SWOSU Symphonic Band and Wind Symphony - “Echoes of the Great Southwest” featuring The Cowboys by John Williams and La Fiesta Mexicana by H. Owen Reed, (not) Alone by Randall Standridge, and more! Check out the program notes to learn more about the music and the conductors.
December 2 and December 4, 2022
Join us at 7:00 pm on December 2nd for our first band concert of the season! The program will include The Chimes of Liberty by Edwin Franko Goldman, Sleigh Ride by Leroy Anderson, A New Horizon by Cait Nishnimura, and Russian Christmas Music by Alfred Reed. This will be a fantastic night of band music featuring the combined Symphonic Band and Wind Symphony.
December 4 at 3:00 pm is the return of the annual Holiday Collage Concert featuring a vast variety of performing groups from small chamber ensembles to the full 90-piece combined band! You don’t want to miss this one!
Both concerts are in the Fine Arts Auditorium on the SWOSU campus in Weatherford, OK
August 26, 2022
I will be performing with The Phil Collins Experience in Indianapolis, IN for the “Symphony on the Prairie” series by the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra. I am SO excited to perform with this amazing group again! If you are in the area, this is a show you do NOT want to miss! “PCE” is an all-pro tribute band performing all the greatest hits from Genesis and Phil Collins’ solo career. It’s nearly 3 hours of music you know by heart, and Terry Adams (Phil) creates a performance atmosphere that is exactly like what you would have seen at the height of Phil Collins’ career in the late 1990s. This 14-piece band will amaze you!
August 17-21, 2022
“The Pride” Marching Band Camp! Make sure you mark your calendars for marching band camp!
May, 2022
I have accepted the position of Director of Bands at Southwestern Oklahoma State University in Weatherford, Oklahoma. This is a fine music program at a great university with a strong band program. I have enjoyed my time at Northwest Missouri State University, and will miss my students and colleagues! Being a DOB at a university was my goal when I left public school education in 2013 to pursue my DMA, and I have achieved that goal! I will be directing the Wind Symphony, Symphonic Band, “The Pride of the Great Southwest” Marching Band, Pep Band, and will teach undergraduate and graduate conducting and music education courses. I am super excited for this new chapter in my career!
March 5, 2022
I am excited to be conducting the KCI Conference High School Band hosted at Lawson High School in Lawson, MO. We will be performing Excelsior! by Robert Langenfeld, La Vie Parisienne by Jacques Offenbach, arr. Kenneth Singleton, Horkstow Grange from Lincolnshire Posey by Percy Aldridge Grainger arr. Michael Sweeney, and finishing up with Brighton Camp Regimental March by Randall D. Standridge. This is going to be a fantastic day of music-making!
March 30-April 2, 2022
I will be presenting Are We Missing the Mark? An Analysis of Band Repertoire in Relation to the National Core Arts Standards at the CBDNA Southwestern Division Conference, hosted by Baylor University in Waco, Texas. This is my first CBDNA session, and I am excited to share my research with my colleagues!
January 28, 2022
Congratulations to my tuba student, John Salehi on being selected by audition to the Missouri All-Collegiate Honor Orchestra which will perform at the 2022 Missouri Music Educators Association convention. Keeping the tradition of Bearcat Low Brass representing in Missouri!
January 4-7, 2022
I have been accepted to present my research at an international conference! I will be doing a paper session on my DMA document - Are High School Band Programs Missing the Mark? An Analysis of Band Repertoire in Relation to the National Core Arts Standards at the Hawaii University International Conferences on Arts, Humanities, Social Sciences, and Education in Honolulu, Hawaii. It is a real honor to be accepted to present at an international conference! I am very excited to share this research on an international platform.
November 18, 2021, 4:00 p.m.
I have been asked to perform on a tune and solo with the Northwest Jazz Ensemble for their performance at the Nebraska Music Educators Association convention at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln. The Northwest Jazz Ensemble, under the direction of Dr. William S. Richardson will be performing a fantastic program, including guest soloist and new Assistant Professor of Percussion and Music Theory Dr. Caleb Pickering on vibraphone performing a piece he arranged for the ensemble. It is a real thrill to hear this ensemble perform! They sound great - especially the trombone section!
November 16, 2021, 7:30 p.m.
The first official performance of the new Concert Band at Northwest is in the books! There was a concert in September of this year which featured chamber music performed by all members, but this November concert was the first time the full band took the stage. It was an excellent performance with the Chamber Strings starting the concert, and the concert band under the direction of three student conductors in addition to Dr. Pippin. Ryan Edwards, Grace Roby, and Reba Bowen conducted this evening, and Connor McNair and Tristen Miles conducted on the September concert. All of them did a marvelous job. These five students will be student teaching and graduating in the spring.
This concert featured St. Paul’s Suite by Gustav Holst performed by the Chamber Strings; Toccata for Band by Frank Erickson, Kachina: Chant and Spirit Dance by Anne McGinty, After “The Thunderer” by Ira Hearshen, and El Capitan by John Philip Sousa.
October, 2021
I am honored to have been appointed as the Dennis C. Dau Professor of Instrumental Music for the 2021-22 and 2022-23 school years for Northwest Missouri State University. This professorship comes with financial support for professional development and program enrichment for the music program at Northwest. I am going to have a great time getting out to some conferences and creating events and opportunities for the students at Northwest over the next two years!
January, 2021
I was selected to present a clinic session - Expressive Gestures From the Musician’s Perspective: What Ensembles Really Want and Need, and How We Miss the Mark for the 2021 Missouri Music Educators Association Annual Inservice/Clinic Conference. This year’s convention is virtual, so I had some practice doing a powerpoint presentation via zoom. It went well, and the attendees had excellent questions and feedback after the presentation!
Check out the powerpoint of the same presentation I did for the College Music Society Great Plains / Rocky Mountain combined virtual conference in 2021 on my Conductor Resources page!
February 25, 2020, 7:30 p.m.
The Northwest Symphony Orchestra will kick off the spring concert season with a Pulitzer Prize-winning composition. We will present “Lilacs” by George Walker for voice and orchestra, featuring soprano alum, Cassandra Leon. This amazing composition won the 1996 Pulitzer Prize for music, and is a fantastic showcase for Cassandra’s beautiful voice, and some very modern sounds from the orchestra. You won’t want to miss this hallmark performance in the Ron Houston Center for the Performing Arts on the Northwest campus.
March, 2020
I have been accepted to present at two different College Music Society regional conventions. First, I will be presenting my doctoral research project at the Great Plains CMS Regional at the University of Kansas on March 21st - “Are High School Band Programs Missing the Mark? An Analysis of Band Repertoire in Relation to the National Core Arts Standards.” A week later, on March 27-28, I will present a conducting workshop at the University of Wyoming - “Expressive Gesture From the Musician’s Perspective: What Ensembles Really Want and Need, and How Conductors Miss the Mark.” I am excited to finally be presenting my research, and to present a session on conducting!
January, 2020
Congratulations to my tuba student, Benoit Gauthier, on being selected to the Missouri All-Collegiate Honor Band which will perform at the 2020 Missouri Music Educators Convention. We have always had a strong low brass presence in the Missouri All-Collegiate honor ensembles, and Benoit is carrying the torch this year. He also had a fantastic senior recital on November 3rd. Low brass Bearcats are doing great things!
November 21, 2019, 7:30 p.m.
Kick off the holiday season with the Northwest Symphony Orchestra! The concert will begin with Three Dances from The Nutcracker by Tchaikovsky, and finish with Symphony No. 9 in E minor, Op. 95 “From the New World” by Dvořák. You will be entertained as you enter the Ron Houston Center for the Performing Arts on the Northwest campus by the “TuBearcats” tuba quartet, performing holiday favorites. Be sure to stick around for a small reception following the concert, and enjoy some cookies! It will be a fantastic night of music and merriment!
October 11-13, 2019
Conducting Clinic: I am presenting a conducting clinic at the National Association of College Wind and Percussion Instructors national convention for 2019. A Conducting Survival Guide for the Applied Studio Teacher is an entertaining session providing a tool kit of easy skills, drills, and concepts to hone conducting gesture. Understanding what to do, and what NOT to do is equally important when conducting, so a humorous, but true list of musician’s “Pet Peeves” of gestures they often see from conductors is included. The focus of the session is on being musical, and approaching conducting with the same standards of artistry we have playing a solo recital. This is a must-see clinic!
October 15, 2019, at 7:30 p.m.
Join us in the Charles Johnson Theatre on the Northwest Campus for the first concert of the year with the Northwest Symphony Orchestra! For the first time in many years (ever?), the Symphony is preparing two concerts in the fall semester. This first performance will feature music by Richard Strauss, Antonin Dvořák, George Gershwin, and Joel Puckett. The second Symphony concert will be Thursday, November 21, also at 7:30 p.m., but in the Ron Houston Center for the Performing Arts. Bring all your friends… there might even be cookies after one of these concerts!
April 17, 2019
We had an amazing show this evening! “All For Not - An Interdisciplinary Performance Featuring Music NOT Written for Trombone” on April 17, 2019. Featuring collaborative pianist, Dr. Jiwon Choi, and Visual Art faculty, Dr. Michael Faris. Special guest, Madeline Langenfeld, joined us for some improvisational dance on our performance of Spiegel im Spiegel by Arvo Pärt, while Dr. Faris painted an original work in real time on stage. The painting was later auctioned off to benefit art scholarships at Northwest.
April 8, 2019
The Spring Concert for the Northwest Symphony Orchestra conducted by me, and the Northwest Symphonic Band - conducted by Dr. Katy Strickland. The Symphonic Band had two student conductors - Benoit Gauthier and Jonah Bradford (both tuba students of mine!), and had a wonderful performance! The Symphony Orchestra featured faculty artists Dr. William Richardson, trumpet, and Mr. Joseph Tomasso, english horn on Quiet City by Aaron Copland. Later on the program, the winner of the 2019 Northwest Concerto / Aria Contest, tenor Mitchell Martinez had a fantastic performance of an aria from Rita by Gaetano Donizetti. The finale of the concert was the Symphony performing the first concert suite from Carmen by Georges Bizet.
February 12, 2019
“A Musical Celebration of Diversity.” This evening, the Northwest Symphony Orchestra had a fantastic performance with special guests - Violinist Extraordinaire, Richmond Punch, and Kansas City Jazz Pianist, Charles Williams. This performance was made possible by a collaboration with the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at Northwest Missouri State University, and was included in the official events celebrating Black History Month. Mr. Punch and Mr. Williams performed a few selections with piano, electric violin, and a backing track. The Northwest Symphony then accompanied Mr. Punch on a version of “Unforgettable”, made famous by Nat King Cole. The finale of the concert was a full symphony performance of the first and fourth movements of the Afro American Symphony by William Grant Still, including a slide show of Harlem Renaissance artwork prepared by Northwest Visual Art faculty Dr. Michael Faris. Also featured on the concert was Joan Tower’s groundbreaking work, Fanfare for the Uncommon Woman, looking forward to March, which is Women’s History Month.
November 11, 2018
Join the Northwest Symphony Orchestra at 3:00 p.m. in the Olive DeLuce Fine Arts Building on the Northwest Missouri State University campus for “A Veteran’s Day Celebration.” Featured will be the Armed Forces Salute arranged by Bob Lowden, where we will honor veterans and active duty military. We will perform Curtain In The Sky by award-winning Northwest alum Robert Langenfeld, Fanfare for the Common Man by Aaron Copland, Suite Française by Guy Woolfenden, Symphony No. 2 in C Major by Joseph Haydn, and finish with Marche Hongroise by Hector Berlioz. Special guest student conductor, Kim Shriver will begin the concert with a special arrangement of The Star Spangled Banner. Come out and support our veterans, and enjoy a wonderful concert. Small reception to follow!
December 9, 2017
I will be conducting the Northwest Missouri Region District Honor Concert Band in Platte City, Missouri. I am honored to be invited to conduct, and I can't wait to work with these talented students and band directors. We will be performing "The Fairest of the Fair" by John Philip Sousa, "An American Elegy" by Frank Ticheli, and three selections from "Lincolnshire Posey" by Percy Aldridge Grainger, arranged by Michael Sweeney - "Lisbon", "Horkstow Grange", and "The Lost Lady Found". It is going to be a wonderful day of music making!
November 14-17, 2017
I have been invited to visit the University of Idaho, in Moscow, Idaho, to do some conducting and present a clinic or two! I am excited to visit Idaho for the first time, and it will be great to work with the students at faculty! Thank you to Dr. Jason Johnston, for the invitation!
February 1, 2017
I am so excited to be bringing a special guest artist to the campus of Northwest Missouri State University! Jason Johnston, Assistant Professor of Horn at the University of Idaho, will join us for the day to work with our brass students, and to participate in a collaborative clinic "Professional Auditions: Strategies for Success!". This clinic will include a mock blind audition featuring Northwest brass students, and an audition committee consisting of Dr. William Richardson, Professor of Trumpet, Jazz Studies, and Assistant Chair of the Department of Fine and Performing Arts, Dr. Elizabeth Dunning, Adjunct Professor of Horn, as well as Jason Johnston and myself. Auditioning students will experience an authentic audition atmosphere, while the rest of the brass studio will get a real "hands-on, behind-the-scenes" look into what an audition committee expects. Students will learn strategies on how to best prepare and present your playing to get to the next round from faculty who have spent many hours on professional orchestra audition committees!
Guest Artist Faculty Recital. 7:30pm, Charles Johnson Theatre at Northwest: Jason Johnston - Horn with Dr. Roger McVey - Piano; Robert Pippin - Trombone with Dr. Jiwon Choi - Piano; and special guest faculty and students for a finale of brass and percussion! It will be an amazing night of music!
November, 2016
275 Conference Band. What a great time! We had about 180 band musicians from 15 schools in the area gather together for a day of excellent music making. It was truly an honor to be asked to conduct this band, and to be able to enjoy making music with so many great musicians! There is wonderful teaching going on in the public schools of northwest Missouri!
January, 2016
Atchison County Band Day! I had a WONDERFUL time conducting these fine young musicians! Congratulations to the students, directors, and parents, for making this event a success. You made me feel welcome, and continued this long tradition of an excellent event! Thank you for inviting me to conduct!
Sunday, October 25, 2015 3:00pm
Northwest Missouri State University, Charles Johnson Theatre. I am honored to be performing "Capriccio" by Frank Gulino with the Northwest Missouri State University Wind Symphony. This is a beautiful, newer work for solo trombone and band. Come out and enjoy an evening of excellent band music!
Other News
Conducting Clinic: I am presenting a conducting clinic at the National Association of College Wind and Percussion Instructors national convention for 2019. A Conducting Survival Guide for the Applied Studio Teacher is an entertaining session providing a tool kit of easy skills, drills, and concepts to hone conducting gesture. Understanding what to do, and what NOT to do is equally important when conducting, so a humorous, but true list of musician’s “Pet Peeves” of gestures they often see from conductors is included. The focus of the session is on being musical, and approaching conducting with the same standards of artistry we have playing a solo recital. This is a must-see clinic!
May 2019: I after waiting an entire year for the graduation ceremony to come around again after completing my DMA in May 2018, I finally had the honor of wearing the gold and black gown, and receiving my diploma from the Peabody Conservatory of The Johns Hopkins University. I had my wife, Holly, and family in attendance, and we had a great time celebrating in Baltimore one last time! I already miss Peabody, Hopkins, Baltimore, all the amazing friends I made, and the professors and students I had the pleasure of working with over the past several years. Working though the doctoral program at Peabody changed my life more than I ever could have imagined, and I have emerged a better teacher, conductor, scholar and colleague. Most of all, I am a better person.
2018 News! In May 2018, I completed all the requirements for the Doctorate in Wind Conducting from the Peabody Conservatory of The Johns Hopkins University. I will officially graduate in May 2019. Also, for the 2018-2019 school year, I am excited to be conducting the University Orchestra at Northwest Missouri State University.
Conducting Workshop. On Tuesday, October 20th, 2015, I was invited to teach a conducting workshop for the NAfME chapter at Northwest Missouri State University. It was so much fun, and the students were very responsive! Continuing to edit this clinic to hopefully present at a music educators conference near you!
Northwest Missouri State University! In the summer of 2015, I was appointed Lecturer of Low Brass and Music Education at Northwest. in January of 2016, I am honored to announce I have accepted the Assistant Professor rank of the same position. This is a great university in Maryville, MO, with an excellent music program. I am excited to be teaching applied lessons for low brass students, conducing, brass methods, composition and arranging, directing the Studio Jazz Ensemble, and conducting the String Sectional for the University Symphony.
Kickstarter a success! Thank you to all the backers of my Kickstarter campaign to raise money to bring our guest soloist to Baltimore for my final conducting concert. Together, you raised over $1,500! This money provided travel and meals for our soloist, and some great snacks for the musicians who volunteered to perform in the band. Thank you!!
Rob's Final Peabody Concert features music that has been transcribed or arranged for band from some other format. We will be premiering my arrangement of the third movement of Symphony 1 in D minor, "The Titan" by Gustav Mahler for band. The concert is FREE, and I promise it will be a good time!!
Iroquois Band Clinic. I had the honor of conducting a band clinic with the Symphonic Band and Wind Ensemble from the Iroquois High School band. They were on their spring trip to Washington D.C. and had time to stop by The Johns Hopkins University for a great clinic. What amazing students! They were very talented, attentive, and had a good time. Congratulations to John Iocco, director, for preparing such an excellent group of music students!