Composer Chats

Randall Standridge (b.1976) received his Bachelor's of Music Education from Arkansas State University. During this time, he studied composition with Dr. Tom O'Connor, before returning to Arkansas State University to earn his Master's in Music Composition, studying with Dr. Tom O'Connor and Dr. Tim Crist. In 2001, he began his tenure as Director of Bands at Harrisburg High School in Harrisburg, Arkansas. He left this post in 2013 to pursue a career as a full-time composer and marching arts designer.

Mr. Standridge's music is performed internationally. He has had numerous works selected for the J.W. Pepper's editor's choice. His compositions Snake Charmer, Gently Blows the Summer Wind, and Angelic Celebrations have been included in the "Teaching Music Through Performance in Band" series. He has had numerous works performed at the prestigious Midwest Clinic in Chicago, Illinois. The Arkansas State University Wind Ensemble premiered his work Art(isms) at the 2010 CBDNA conference in Las Cruces, New Mexico, and his work Stonewall: 1969 was premiered at the National LGBA conference in 2019. His Symphony no.1: A Ghost Story was premiered in 2023. In addition, Mr. Standridge's "unBroken Project," a musical initiative about mental health, has received widespread acclaim for its musical content and for providing opportunities to normalize discussions about mental health for music students and audiences.

In addition to his career as a composer, Mr. Standridge is the owner and editor of Randall Standridge Music, LLC and Grand Mesa Marching. He is in demand as an arranger/designer for the marching arts. He lives in Jonesboro, Arkansas, with his husband, Steven, and their very, very spoiled pets.

Erin Keeton-Howard is a Seattle-based educator, conductor, and composer. Community music, and the formation of community through making music, is at the heart of her research interests, educational philosophy, and personal passion. Erin is delighted to engage in this adventure through her work as a guest conductor/composer/clinician and through her recently released book: “Women in Wind Band” published in December 2023 by GIA Publications, Inc. This text is written from the experience of women to foster a more authentic and inclusive future for everyone in the field.

Serving as Director of Upper School Bands at The Northwest School, Erin is currently in her 16th year of teaching. She is a multi-year nominee ​for Teacher of the Year and has been awarded the Sigma Alpha Iota Leadership Award. In 2020 her wind ensemble at Inglewood Middle School was selected to perform at the National Association for Music Education Northwest Region conference. While teaching, Erin maintains an active role in community music. She is a director and founder of Formation Wind Band, Seattle’s all-women wind ensemble. Formation has the honor of performing at the upcoming 2024 Washington Music Educators Association conference. Previous community music involvement includes directing the North Seattle Symphonic Band and Modern Jazz Ensemble at North Seattle College, serving on the artistic staff of Rainbow City Performing Arts, and co-founding the Give Back Brass Band.

Erin discovered composing during the pandemic. She enjoys writing music for all levels but is particularly passionate about writing quality music for student musicians to nurture developing skills and specific idiosyncrasies for each instrument. Erin is actively commissioned to write music for ensembles all over the country. Her works include compositions for concert, jazz, pep, and brass bands as well as various chamber ensembles. Erin’s music is published with Murphy Music Press, Carl Fischer, and Randall Standridge Music Publications. To view her catalog, click HERE.

Erin graduated cum laude from the University of Missouri (B.S. in music education) and the University of Washington (M.A. in music education, emphasis instrumental conducting). She has studied conducting with Tim Salzman, Dr. Mallory Thompson, Dr. Chris Bianco, Dr. Tony Maiello, Dr. Emily Moss, and Dr. Steven Davis. Erin is a member of the National Association for Music Education, National Band Association, World Association for Symphonic Bands and Ensembles. Washington Music Educators Association, and Sigma Alpha Iota International Women’s Music Fraternity.

In addition to her musical pursuits, Erin is passionate about travel, cooking, the PNW coast, and sudoku. Erin resides in Mountlake Terrace, WA with her wife Felicia.

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After 36 years as a middle and high school band director, Laura Estes (b. 1959) retired in 2018 from the Cobb County School System (GA) and began composing. Her first piece, Kvetchers (Surprises in Controversial Time), was published in Excelcia Music Publishing’s 2020 catalog, and with her composition Walking on Air, Estes was named the winner of the 2021 Women Band Director’s International (WBDI) Composition Competition. Along with original music performed at The Midwest Clinic in Chicago, Estes’ concert works are frequently featured at state music conventions, All-State events, and regional honor bands throughout the United States. In addition to appearing on state festival and contest lists, several of Estes’ band and orchestra compositions have also been designated as J.W. Pepper Editor’s Choice.

A recipient of the National Band Association’s Citation of Excellence, Estes’ bands consistently earned Superior ratings at performance evaluations throughout her career, and middle and high school bands under her direction were selected as guest performers at clinics and conventions in the Southeast. Estes has also presented at state conventions, on college campuses, and at the Midwest Clinic.

A South Florida native, Estes earned her bachelor’s degree in music education from The Florida State University, and her master’s degree in music education from Georgia State University. In addition to composing, she continues to serve as an adjudicator, guest conductor, clinician, and mentor. Estes and her husband Gil reside in Marietta, GA, and have 5 amazing children, along with a host of equally amazing grandchildren.

The innovative and highly energetic music of Rob Smith is frequently performed throughout the United States and abroad. His music has received numerous awards, including those from the Aaron Copland House, ASCAP and the National Band Association. Commissions have come from the Texas Music Festival Orchestra, the New York Youth Symphony Chamber Music Program, the American Composers Forum (as a part of their Continental Harmony project) and several nationally renowned university wind ensembles, among others.

In 1997, he was the recipient of a Fulbright Grant to Australia, which led to a teaching position at the University of Wollongong in 1998. Currently, he teaches at the University of Houston’s Moores School of Music where he is Associate Professor of Music Composition and director of the AURA Contemporary Ensemble. From 2003-2014 he served as one of the artistic directors of Musiqa, a Houston-based contemporary chamber ensemble.

Commercial recordings of his music are available by the Society for New Music (Syracuse, NY), the University of Houston and Rutgers University Wind Ensembles, saxophonist Jeremy Justeson, Austrian toy pianist Isabel Ettenauer, and the University of Houston and Texas Christian University Percussion Ensembles. Boosey & Hawkes, Carl Fischer, Southern Music, C-Alan Publications, TRN and Skitter Music Publications publish his music.

Larry Clark (b. 1963) is the founder and President of Excelcia Music Publishing as well as President of Wingert-Jones Publications, Kendor Music Publishing, and RBC Publications. His company focuses on educational music for band, choral, Jazz ensemble and orchestra along with related methods and books. Prior to Larry starting his own publishing company he served for nineteen years as Vice President, Editor-in-Chief for Carl Fischer Music, and before that an Instrumental Music Editor for Warner Bros. Publications. He travels the world presenting clinic/workshops and guest conducting appearances. His diverse background as a former middle school and university band director at Syracuse University, combined with his composing and editing, have placed Larry at the forefront of music for school ensembles.

His music is some of the most popular and most performed by concert bands and string orchestras of all ability levels. Larry is equally adept at writing music for beginners as he is for high school and college ensembles. His music is characterized by rhythmic verve, tuneful melodies, contains a fresh harmonic perspective, is well scored and stretches the musicianship of the performers. He prides himself on producing music that is not only intriguing to performers and audiences alike but that contains a playability that comes from a keen understanding of the technical difficulties inherent in all instruments. His pieces have been performed internationally and appear on numerous contest/festival performance required music lists. He is an ASCAP award-winning composer, has over 400 publications in print and is in demand to write commissions for bands and orchestras across the country.

Larry's music has been influenced by a variety of composers and teachers. He credits his father, a long time band director in Florida, for teaching him the joy of music. He was influenced early in his writing career by composer Robert W. Smith. His decision to pursue composition and arranging was influenced further by Dr. John Hillard, composition professor at James Madison University. Dr. Pat Rooney, director of bands at James Madison University, gave Larry his first performance opportunities by performing his arrangements with the popular Marching Royal Dukes. Larry considers himself to be a product of the school band movement. His works are highly influenced by the standard band repertoire of composers such as Holst, Grainger, Schuman and Persichetti.

Larry is in demand as a clinician and guest conductor around the country. He has presented clinics recently at the Midwest Clinic, the New York State School Music Association conference, the Texas Music Educators Association conference, the Ohio Music Educators Association conference, the Florida Music Educators Association conference and the Wisconsin Music Educators Association conference as well as numerous guest-conducting appearances internationally.

He is co-author with Sandy Feldstein of the innovative band method The Yamaha Advantage. He holds a Bachelors Degree in Music Education from Florida State University and Masters Degrees in Conducting and Composition from James Madison University in Virginia.

Z. Randall Stroope is an American composer and conductor, having conducted concerts in 26 countries and published over 200 musical works. Randall is the Artistic Director of two international summer music festivals and has directed music for Vatican Mass 12 times. Recent guest conducting engagements include Rome, Hong Kong, Barcelona, Dublin, Stockholm, Berlin, and Vienna. In the United States, Randall has directed 56 performances at Carnegie Hall and Chicago Orchestra Hall, 48 all-state choirs, and numerous other conducting workshops, clinics, and performances at universities and festivals.

Randall is the founder/conductor of The New American Voices, a professional recording/performing ensemble based in Dallas/Fort Worth. This ensemble will be touring northern Italy, Belgium, and the Netherlands in the summer of 2024.

All of the major marketing/social media platforms feature Randall’s music, including his own website, www.zrstroope.com. He has created 95 videos for YouTube and his music can be live-streamed through Spotify. His composition teacher-mentors were Normand Lockwood and Cecil Effinger, both students of the famous French teacher, Nadia Boulanger. Seven companies publish his works, which have sold over four million copies. The Conversion of Saul, Lamentations of Jeremiah, Amor de mi alma, Christi Mutter, We Beheld Once Again the Stars, The Pasture, Revelation, Homeland, I Am Not Yours, Dies Irae, Hodie! (This Day), Song to the Moon, and In Paradisum are among those on his best-seller list.

Randall holds a Bachelor of Music Education in Voice and Piano, a Master of Music in Voice Performance, and a Doctor of Musical Arts in Conducting. He did post-graduate work with Margaret Hillis, Chorus Master of the Chicago Symphony.

When not on the road, Randall, Cheryl, and their Sheltie (Haddie) spend time at their home/studios in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and Merritt Island, Florida.

https://www.zrstroope.com/

Robert Sheldon (b. Feb 3, 1954) has taught instrumental music in the Florida and Illinois public schools and has served on the faculty at Florida State University where he taught instrumental music education classes, conducting, and directed the university bands. Following seventeen years as Director of Concert Band Publications for Alfred Music, he now maintains an active composition and conducting schedule, regularly accepting commissions for new works. Sheldon received the Bachelor of Music in Music Education from the University of Miami and the Master of Fine Arts in Instrumental Conducting from the University of Florida. In 2020, VanderCook College of Music presented him with an honorary Doctorate in Music Education.

An internationally recognized clinician, his music is performed around the world and frequently appears on many international concert and contest lists. Sheldon has conducted Regional and All-State Honor Bands throughout the United States and abroad. He often appears as a Music Education clinician and has presented sessions and seminars at numerous colleges and universities as well as state Music Education Association conferences. He has served as a conductor and clinician throughout the United States, as well as Japan, Canada, Italy, Taiwan, Germany, Australia and China, and has conducted performances of his works in New York’s Carnegie Hall, Chicago’s Orchestra Hall, Boston’s Symphony Hall, Taipei’s National Concert Hall, Matsumoto’s Seiji Ozawa Performing Arts Center, Hamamatsu’s ACT City Concert Hall, the Sydney Opera House and the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington D.C. His teaching career included 28 years in the public schools as well as at the University of Florida, Florida State University, Illinois Central College and Bradley University. He also held positions as conductor of the Alachua County Youth Orchestra in Gainesville, Florida and the Prairie Wind Ensemble in East Peoria, Illinois. He maintains membership in several organizations that promote music and music education, and is lead author for SOUND INNOVATIONS FOR BAND, serving as co-author for MEASURES OF SUCCESS, SOUND INNOVATIONS FOR STRINGS, SOUND SIGHT-READING FOR BAND and MUSIC FUNDATIONS.

His compositions embody a level of expression that resonates with ensembles and audiences alike, and he produces numerous publications for concert band each year. The American School Band Directors Association has honored him with the Volkwein Award for composition and the Stanbury Award for teaching, the International Assembly of Phi Beta Mu honored him with the International Outstanding Bandmaster Award, and he has been awarded membership in the American Bandmasters Association. With over three million copies of his compositions and books sold, he is one of the most performed composers of wind band music today. A twenty-eight-time recipient of the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publisher’s Standard Award for his compositions in the concert band and orchestral repertoire, Mr. Sheldon has been the topic of articles published in The Instrumentalist, Teaching Music and School Band and Orchestra Magazine, The World Association of Symphonic Bands and Ensembles (WASBE) World Magazine, and is one of eleven American wind band composers featured in Volume I of Composers on Composing Music for Band.

Tyler Arcari (b. 1989) is a composer, arranger, author, and clinician whose music is played around the world. He received his B.A. and M.S. degrees in music education from Troy University where he studied with composer Ralph Ford and Euphonium under Dr. Mark J. Walker. As a teacher, Tyler has taught at both the middle and high school levels. Tyler’s primary focus when writing has been for the young musician. He became passionate about and interested in the needs of developing musicians as a classroom teacher and finds writing for musicians at this level to be very rewarding.

Tyler's music can currently be found published through Excelcia Music Publishing, Wingert-Jones Publications, Kendor Music Publishing and Carl Fischer Music. His original works have been featured across the globe, appear on numerous state contest lists and events such as the Midwest Clinic International Band and Orchestra Conference. As an arranger and commissioned composer, Tyler has worked with many high school, university, and community groups as well as professionals such as Carl Hilding “Doc” Severinsen and vocalist Holly Shelton. As a Clinician, Tyler regularly appears as composer in residence as well as guest clinician for honor bands and festivals.

Currently, Tyler serves as the Director of Music Production and Editing at Excelcia Music Publishing LLC, Wingert-jones Publications, Kendor Music Publishing and RBC Publications. In his spare time, Tyler enjoys playing fantasy-world video games and building his own computers. He is an avid animal lover and lives in Lakeland with his wife Heather, their two rabbits named Maximus and Marshmallow, their peach cat named Otis, and dog named Hilda.

For more information about the music of Tyler Arcari, visit his website www.tylerarcari.com

Brooke Pierson (b. 1987) is a multi-award winning composer, multiple ASCAP+ Award Recipient, conductor, and teacher of the year nominated educator out of Ypsilanti, Michigan (USA).

Brooke’s music has been performed throughout the United States and abroad by groups such as the West Point Band, the Dallas Winds, the Appalachian Wind Ensemble, and the Banda Musicale Città di Seriate, as well as renowned solo and chamber musicians including Craig Knox (Pittsburgh Symphony). In 2018 his piece for brass ensemble “Rise Up” was selected as a winner of the Dallas Winds fanfare competition. Since 2019, his music has been regularly featured at regional and national conferences, contests, and festivals. In 2020, his work "The Lighthouse Keeps Watch" was selected as winner of the NBA/Alfred Composition Contest. In 2021, he was commissioned by the West Point Academy Band/US Army to write his Symphony No. 2 "West Point", the first piece of this scope commissioned by the academy band since 1952. Brooke regularly serves as a guest and resident composer to institutions.

Brooke holds a Bachelor's degree in Music Education from Michigan State University and is currently Chair of the Music Department at the Washtenaw International High School and Middle Academy, (Ypsilanti, Michigan), teaching Orchestra, Band, Music History, Music Culture, and Music Composition, where he has held this position since the school's inception in 2011. He also served as the music director of Grace Lutheran Church (Howell, MI) for 8 years as organist and musician.

Brooke is a member of ASCAP and his music can be found with Alfred Music, Excelcia Music Publishing, C. Alan Publications, and his own publishing company Taurus Music Publishing.

www.brookepierson.com

Steven L. Rosenhaus (b. Brooklyn, NY) is a composer, lyricist, arranger, conductor, author, educator and clinician, and performer. His concert music has been called “clever, deftly constructed and likable” by The New York Times; the Sächsiche Zeitung (Dresden, Germany) declares it “expressive....Its song-like melodic sequences and balladic aspects give it a lyrical beauty, within a newer soundworld.” Back Stage magazine called his music and lyrics for the off-Broadway show "Critic" “sprightly, upbeat, and in the ballad repertory, simply lovely.” His original works and arrangements are performed by such musicians as the New York Philharmonic, the Kansas City Symphony, pianist Laura Leon, violinist Florian Mayer, the Dresden Sinfonietta, the Meridian String Quartet, several U.S. military ensembles including the U.S. Navy Band (Washington, DC), and educational ensembles at all levels throughout the United States, Canada, Australia, and the EU. Dr. Rosenhaus holds a Ph.D. from New York University where he serves as Adjunct Assistant Professor of Composition; other degrees are from Queens College (CUNY). He has over 200 original works and arrangements in print with Excelcia Music Publishing and other publishers. Recordings of his music are on the Musical Tapestries, Richardson, Capstone, and MPP labels. Dr. Rosenhaus is a frequent guest conductor and clinician of service, professional, community, and educational groups at all levels. In addition Dr. Rosenhaus is a dramatruge for Broadway- and off-Broadway-bound musicals. He has consulted on approximately 30% of musicals presented in those venues since 2006. Steven L. Rosenhaus is the author of "The Concertgoer’s Guide to the Symphony Orchestra" (Music Gifts Company) and co-author with Allen Cohen of "Writing Musical Theater" (Palgrave Macmillan). Dr. Rosenhaus is a National Patron of the Delta Omicron International Music Fraternity and has received numerous awards and grants from ASCAP, the American Composers Forum, and other organizations.