Amy Knopps is the Associate Director of Bands and the Director of Athletic Bands at the University of Missouri, Columbia. In this episode, Amy shares her story of growing up in the Kansas City area and how she found her way to her dream job as the director of the Marching Mizzou.

Topics:

• Amy’s background growing up in Lee’s Summit through her college experience as a student at the University of Missouri.
• Amy’s first job, the connections that made her first teaching job in Kansas City so special, and her first college teaching job at Eastern Michigan University.
• Some lessons that we can apply to our own teaching from her story.
• The Marching Mizzou, leadership, community, and the advantages of being the athletic band director at the flagship university of her native state.
• The challenges of being a female band athletic band director and words of encouragement for young female band directors.

Links:

• Amy Knopps
• The Marching Mizzou
• Grainger: Irish Tune from County Derry

Biography:

Amy M. Knopps is the Associate Director of Bands and Director of Athletic Bands at the University of Missouri where she directs Marching Mizzou, Mini Mizzou, Symphonic Band, and teaches courses in the music education curriculum of the School of Music. Prior to her appointment in the fall of 2017, Dr. Knopps served for seven years as Associate Professor of Music, Associate Director of Bands, and Director of Athletic Bands in the School of Music and Dance at Eastern Michigan University. While at Eastern Michigan she was a Faculty Spotlight Recipient, the Eastern Michigan University Thank-A-Teacher Inaugural Recipient, and featured in a historic exhibition titled, "In Her Shoes: Forging Paths at EMU" as she was the first woman to direct the Eastern Michigan University Marching Band and serve as Associate Director of Bands.  

Dr. Knopps earned degrees from The University of Georgia (DMA), the University of Kansas (MM), and the University of Missouri (BS, Ed.) where her principal conducting teachers were Dr. John P. Lynch and Dr. Dale J. Lonis. While at Georgia and Kansas she held conducting associate positions that involved conducting both concert and athletic bands as well as teaching courses in the music curriculum. During her time at The University of Georgia, Dr. Knopps received the Hugh Hodgson School of Music Director’s Excellence Award and at the University of Kansas she received the Russell L. Wiley Graduate Conducting Award.

Additional teaching experience includes numerous years as Director of Bands at Center High School and Center Middle School in her hometown of Kansas City, Missouri where she guided all aspects of the diverse and award winning band program. While in the Center School District, Dr. Knopps received the 2003 Missouri Fine Arts Outstanding Teacher Award and the 2004 You Make the Difference Award for her dedication and commitment to excellence in education. As an advocate for new wind music she solely commissioned and premiered Jonathan Newman’s 1861 for concert band in 2003 and continues her commitment to contributing to the wind band repertoire through additional commissions for Symphonic Band at the University of Missouri. 

Dr. Knopps continues to be an active conductor, clinician, and adjudicator across the United States and internationally having worked and performed throughout Asia, Australia, Canada, Europe, and South America. Each summer she serves as a clinician/instructor at the Smith-Walbridge Clinics held in Charleston, Illinois working with high school and college drum majors from across the country. Dr. Knopps is also known for her published contributions as she has authored several articles for School Band and Orchestra Magazine, and has contributed to seven volumes of the Teaching Music Through Performance in Band series. In addition to her published articles she has completed extensive research on American-Sponsored overseas secondary band programs in the People’s Republic of China. 

Dr. Knopps maintains professional affiliations with the College Band Directors National Association (CBDNA), currently serving on the CBDNA Athletic Bands Committee, World Association for Symphonic Bands and Ensembles (WASBE), the National Association for Music Education (NAfME), National Band Association (NBA), currently serving as the Missouri State Chair, Phi Beta Mu, Tau Beta Sigma, Kappa Kappa Psi, currently serving as the sponsor for the Eta Upsilon chapter, the Griffiths Leadership Society for Women, currently serving on the Executive Committee, and QEBH, the oldest of six secret honor societies at the University of Missouri. She currently resides in Columbia, Missouri with her two cats Buddy and Rocky.