Jerry Junkin
Director of Bands
University Distinguished Teaching Professor
Serving since 1988 on the faculty of The University of Texas at Austin, where he holds the Vincent R. and Jane D. DiNino Chair for the Director of Bands, in addition to serving as a University Distinguished Teaching Professor, Jerry Junkin is recognized as one of the world’s most highly regarded wind conductors. Previously, he served on the faculties of both the University of Michigan and the University of South Florida. In addition to his responsibilities as Professor of Music and Conductor of the Texas Wind Ensemble, he serves as Head of the Conducting Division and teaches courses in conducting and wind band literature. He is a recipient of multiple teaching awards, and students of Prof. Junkin hold major positions throughout the world.
He has served as Music Director and Conductor of the Hong Kong Wind Philharmonia since 2003, and as Artistic Director and Conductor of the Dallas Winds since 1993. Additionally, he serves as principal guest conductor of the Sensoku Gakuen College of Music Wind Ensemble in Kawasaki, Japan. In 2005 he was presented the Grainger Medallion by the International Percy Grainger Society in recognition of his championing of Grainger’s works. A recipient of the Kappa Kappa Psi Distinguished Service to music Award, he was the 2012 Texas Bandmaster of the Year and in 2015 received the Medal of Honor from the Midwest International Band and Orchestra Clinic. He is the 2017 Phi Beta Mu International Bandmaster of the Year.
Performances under the direction of Prof. Junkin have won the praise of such notable musicians as John Corigliano, David Del Tredici, Gunther Schuller, Karel Husa, William Kraft, Jacob Druckman and Michael Colgrass, among many others. Prof. Junkin has released over 30 compact disc recordings for the Reference, Klavier and Naxos labels. The New York Times named his release with the UT Wind Ensemble on the Reference Recordings label, Bells for Stokowski, one of the best classical CDs of the year. Their performance of Circus Maximus was released on the world’s first Blu Ray audio disc in 5.1 surround sound by Naxos. In 2014, he led The University of Texas Wind Ensemble on a four-week tour around the world. Other major appearances with the UT Wind Ensemble include 1992 and 2008 European Tours, the 2007 Festival Del Sole in Napa Valley, in addition to two Carnegie Hall performances, seven TMEA Convention concerts, three ABA Convention performances and six CBDNA National Convention appearances.
Jerry Junkin is an enthusiastic advocate of public school music education, having conducted All-State bands and festivals in forty-eight states and on five continents. He spends his summers in residence at the Interlochen Arts Camp in Michigan, as well as appearing at major music festivals throughout the world. Prof. Junkin has served as President of the Big 12 Band Director’s Association, is a member of the Board of Directors of The John Philip Sousa Foundation, is Past-President of the American Bandmasters Association, and is a Past-President of the College Band Directors National Association. Regularly making guest appearances with ensembles such as the Tokyo Kosei Wind Orchestra and the Taipei Symphonic Winds, the current season finds him conducting throughout the United States in addition to appearances in Japan, China, and Europe. Jerry Junkin is a Yamaha Master Educator.
Cliff Croomes
Associate Director of Bands
Director of the Longhorn Band
Associate Professor of Practice
Cliff Croomes serves as Associate Director of Bands and the Director of the Longhorn Band at The University of Texas at Austin. Prior to his return to Austin he served as the Assistant Director of Bands at Louisiana State University and the Music Director and Principal Conductor of the Civic Orchestra of Baton Rouge. Dr. Croomes holds both his Master of Music and Doctor of Musical Arts degrees from LSU. Prior to his time in Baton Rouge, Dr. Croomes served as the Director of Bands at Georgetown High School in Georgetown, Texas. Under his baton, the Georgetown Wind Symphony was named a 2014 Mark of Excellence Commended Winner. Earlier in his career Mr. Croomes was the Associate Director of Bands at Douglas MacArthur High School in San Antonio, Texas. He has also taught at Westview Middle School, Pflugerville High School and Bastrop High School. He has also had the pleasure of serving on the faculty of the University of Texas Longhorn Music Camp from 2001-2014.
Dr. Croomes earned his Bachelor of Music Studies degree from The University of Texas at Austin and is an alumnus of the Cavaliers Drum and Bugle Corps from Rosemont, Illinois. He has performed with ensembles throughout the United States, London, Paris, Switzerland, Germany, and Italy as well as serving as an international consultant throughout Japan. He has served as an adjudicator and clinician for marching and concert bands throughout the states of Texas and Louisiana.
Dr. Croomes holds an artist/educator endorsement with Innovative Percussion Inc. and is a founding board member of the composer diversity initiative “And We Were Heard” as well as a member of the Dr. William P. Foster Project advisory board. Dr. Croomes holds an honorary membership in Kappa Kappa Psi as well as professional memberships in the Texas Bandmasters Association, Texas Music Adjudicators Association, the Percussive Arts Society, Louisiana Music Educators Association and the Texas Music Educators Association.
Douglas Henderson
Associate Director of Bands
Conductor of the Wind Symphony
Douglas Henderson serves as Associate Director of Bands at The University of Texas at Austin, where his responsibilities include conducting the Wind Symphony, teaching advanced undergraduate and graduate conducting, and teaching band literature. Prior to joining the UT faculty, Dr. Henderson was an Associate Professor, Associate Director of Bands, and Director of Athletic Bands at Oklahoma State University.
Dr. Henderson is active as a guest conductor, adjudicator, and clinician throughout the United States, and he has guest conducted in Austria and Japan. He is a frequent guest conductor of the World Youth Wind Orchestra Project (WYWOP), an ensemble comprised of talented young international musicians from Europe, Australia, Japan, and North America. He also previously served as the conductor of Frontier Brass Band, a British-style brass band based out of the Oklahoma City area.
Dr. Henderson received his Bachelor of Music degree in Music Studies from The University of Texas at Austin, his Master of Music degree in Wind Conducting from Michigan State University, and his Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Wind Conducting from The University of Texas at Austin. His primary conducting mentors were Jerry Junkin and Kevin Sedatole.
From 2003-2006, he was the Associate Director of Bands at J.J. Pearce High School in Richardson, Texas. In 1998 and 1999, he marched with the Madison Scouts Drum & Bugle Corps and then taught on the brass staff of the Madison Drum & Bugle Corps Association in 2001.
He holds professional memberships in the College Band Directors National Association, Phi Kappa Phi, Texas Music Educators Association, Texas Bandmasters Association, Kappa Kappa Psi, and Tau Beta Sigma.
Drew Dickey
Assistant Director of Bands
Associate Director of the Longhorn Band
Christopher Drew Dickey serves as Associate Director of the Longhorn Band and on the conducting faculty of the Butler School of Music at The University of Texas at Austin, where he is currently completing his Doctor of Musical Arts Degree in Wind Conducting. In addition to his appointment at Texas, Mr. Dickey also serves as the Music Design Coordinator with the Pacific Crest Drum and Bugle Corps in Diamond Bar, California and on the brass instructional staff with The Bluecoats Drum and Bugle Corps in Canton, Ohio.
Prior to his current appointments, Mr. Dickey held positions at The Cavaliers Drum and Bugle Corps, The South Carolina School of the Arts at Anderson University, the Anderson School District 5 District Office, and Southwood Academy of the Arts. He also served as a Graduate Conducting Associate with the Louisiana State University Department of Bands and spent many years as an educator and administrator in the South Carolina public schools.
Mr. Dickey holds the degrees of Master of Music in Music Education from the Ithaca College School of Music, Master of Music in Wind Conducting from Louisiana State University, and Bachelor of Music in Music Education from the University of South Carolina.
Marc Sosnowchik
Assistant Director of Bands
Director of the New Music Ensemble
Assistant Director of the Longhorn Band
Co-Director of the Longhorn Pep Band
Dr. Marc Sosnowchik is a conductor, educator, arranger, and clinician based in Austin, Texas. His current duties at the University of Texas (UT) include conducting the New Music Ensemble and Concert Bands, directing the Longhorn Pep Band, instructing courses in conducting and wind literature, and teaching the Longhorn Band. Before his appointment at UT, Dr. Sosnowchik served as Associate Director of Bands at the University of South Florida (USF), Assistant Director of Bands at Oklahoma State University (OSU), and Associate Conductor of the Florida Wind Band.
Dr. Sosnowchik maintains an active schedule as a clinician, conductor, adjudicator, drill designer, and arranger. He conducts honor bands throughout the U.S., and in the summer teaches at the World Youth and Adult Wind Orchestra Projects as part of the Mid-Europe Festival in Schladming, Austria.
Dr. Sosnowchik earned his bachelor’s degree in music education from the University of Alabama, and both his master’s and doctoral degrees in conducting from The University of Texas at Austin. Before teaching at the university level, Dr. Sosnowchik taught in the public schools of Alabama, during which time, he also served as conductor of the Tuscaloosa Winds and was a staff member for Music for All’s Bands of America festivals and symposia.
Mike Lebrias
Assistant Director of Bands
Assistant Director of the Longhorn Band
Co-Director of the Longhorn Pep Band
Director of the Austin Youth Wind Ensemble
Dr. Mike Lebrias is a conductor, music educator, & content creator residing in Austin, Texas. He currently serves as an Assistant Director of Bands and Director of Creative Media for the University of Texas Bands department, where he co-teaches the Longhorn Band & Longhorn Pep Band, conducts the Austin Youth Wind Ensemble, and oversees content creation efforts for the department of bands. Dr. Lebrias also maintains his own social media channels – he enjoys making content geared towards providing educational music and conducting content to his viewers, and aims to help bring the Wind Band art form, its composers, and its music into the mainstream.
Dr. Lebrias has been fortunate enough to conduct ensembles at all levels of performance – from middle school honor bands to professional wind bands; he keeps an active schedule as a clinician, music arranger, and a content creator for wind music – creating content for composers & professional wind bands across the country. He has made conducting appearances with all-district & region bands, professional bands, the United States Air Force Band, and British-style brass bands alike. Dr. Lebrias is also active in the transcription and arrangement realm, where he has transcribed multiple works for winds, including Leonard Bernstein’s Symphony No. 1, “Jeremiah” for Wind Ensemble and John Psathas’ Orbital for Percussion Quartet & Wind Ensemble – in addition to a large body of arrangement work for collegiate and high school marching bands. As a content creator, Dr. Lebrias has helped create content for the University of Texas Longhorn Band (@longhornband) & The University of Texas Bands (@utexasbands), and the Dallas Winds (@dallaswinds).
