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.
Ryan Kelly
Associate Director of Bands
Associate Professor of Practice
Ryan Kelly serves as Associate Professor of Practice in Conducting, Associate Director of Bands, and Associate Director of the Butler School of Music at The University of Texas at Austin. He conducts the Wind Symphony and New Music Ensemble, teaches undergraduate and graduate conducting, and oversees Longhorn Music Camp; the university’s summer music program hosting over 1,100 students annually from across the United States. He has previously served the Butler School as Interim Director of Orchestras and as Associate Director of the Longhorn Band. Prior to joining the UT faculty, Dr. Kelly was Associate Director of Bands and Director of Athletic Bands at the University of Central Florida, where he served as Director of the Marching Knights, conducted the Symphonic Band, and taught courses in music education.
Dr. Kelly is an active guest conductor, clinician, and adjudicator. He conducts regional and All-State honor bands throughout the United States, and in summers, teaches on the faculty of the World Youth Wind Orchestra Project as part of the Mid-Europe Festival in Schladming, Austria. As an arranger, Dr. Kelly has collaborated with Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Kevin Puts and GRAMMY-nominated composer Adam Schoenberg to transcribe, premiere, and publish their music for wind ensemble.
A native of northern Virginia, Dr. Kelly received bachelor’s and master’s degrees in music education from Florida State University, and the Doctor of Musical Arts degree in conducting from The University of Texas at Austin. Before teaching at the university level, he was a high school band director for seven years in Lakeland and Tallahassee, Florida. Dr. Kelly has presented at the state music conferences of Texas, Florida, and Ohio, the College Band Directors National Association (CBDNA) Biennial National Conference, and the CBDNA Athletic Band Symposium. He has published articles in Research Perspectives in Music Education, Florida Music Director, and Southwestern Musician.
In addition to his teaching responsibilities, Dr. Kelly curates and hosts a weekly radio show featuring performances from UT students and faculty on KMFA Classical 89.5, Austin’s classical radio station. He is a past chair of the social media committee for CBDNA, and has previously served on the Board of Directors for the Florida Music Educators Association. Currently, Dr. Kelly serves as Secretary for the Big 12 Band Directors Association. His professional affiliations additionally include the Texas Music Educators Association, Texas Bandmasters Association, Kappa Kappa Psi, Tau Beta Sigma, and BMI.
Joshua Gall
Assistant Director of Bands
Associate Director of the Longhorn Band
Director of the Longhorn Pep Band
Joshua R. Gall serves as Associate Director of the Longhorn Band and Director of the Longhorn Pep Band at The University of Texas at Austin. In the Butler School of Music he also teaches academic courses in instrumental conducting and marching band methods. Prior to his appointment at The University of Texas, Professor Gall served as a Doctoral Conducting Associate at The University of Florida.
Professor Gall previously taught in the public schools of Virginia and Florida where ensembles that he conducted were chosen for VMEA, FMEA and Midwest Band & Orchestra Clinic performances. In addition to his work in the public schools, he has regularly designed for and taught some of the world’s finest marching ensembles. His extensive background in the marching arts has allowed him to work with the ten-time World Champion Cadets Drum Corps, Genesis Drum Corps, and the Bluecoats Drum Corps where he is currently on staff.
As an entrepreneur, Professor Gall actively contributes to the music industry as an owner of Ultimate Drill Book which supports programs such as The Bluecoats, Santa Clara Vanguard, Carolina Crown, the U.S. Army All-American Marching Band and over 500 other academic and professional programs around the world.
A native of central Virginia, Professor Gall received his Bachelor of Music Education Degree from Virginia Commonwealth University and the Master of Music Degree from The University of Florida in Instrumental Conducting where his primary conducting teachers were Dr. Terry Austin, Professor Daniel Myssyk and Dr. David Waybright.
Professor Gall’s professional affiliations include the College Band Directors National Association, Texas Music Educators Association, Texas Bandmasters Association and Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia.
LaToya Webb
Assistant Director of Bands
Assistant Director of the Longhorn Band & Longhorn Pep Band
LaToya A. Webb serves as Assistant Professor of Practice in Conducting and Assistant Director of the Longhorn Band at The University of Texas at Austin. She teaches courses in instrumental conducting, marching band methods, and wind band literature. Before joining the UT faculty, Dr. Webb served as an instructor of wind conducting at Auburn and Grambling State universities.
A native of Richmond, Virginia, Dr. Webb served as a music director and events coordinator for the District of Columbia Public Charter Schools and as a band director for Richmond, VA Public Schools. Dr. Webb received her Bachelor of Science degree in Interdisciplinary Studies with concentrations in music and education and a Master of Music Education degree, emphasizing clarinet from Norfolk State University. She also earned a Master of Music degree from George Mason University, studying Instrumental Conducting with Professors Mark Camphouse, Anthony Maiello, and Dr. Dennis Layendecker. Dr. Webb received her Ph.D. in Instrumental Music Education from Auburn University, where she served as a graduate teaching assistant for the Department of Music and Bands.
A versatile educator and conductor, Dr. Webb is an active researcher and presenter on instrumental conducting pedagogy, bias, diversity, equity, and inclusion in music education, appearing at state, national, and international conferences. She is published in the Music Educators Journal and the Teaching Music Magazine. Dr. Webb was a conducting recipient of the 2017 College Band Directors National Association (CBDNA) Mike Moss Diversity Fellowship and a conducting masterclass participant at the 2018 CBDNA/National Band Association Southern Division Conference. Dr. Webb has the distinct honor of being a conducting fellow in the 2019 U.S. Army Band Conductors’ Workshop with the U.S. Army Band “Pershing’s Own.” She was also the recipient of a Reynolds Conducting Institute Fellowship at the 2019 Midwest Clinic.
As a passionate advocate for improving educational opportunities through diversity, equity, and inclusion, Dr. Webb is the Special Projects Manager for United Sound, Inc. This national program provides musical performance experiences for students with special needs through peer mentorship. She also serves on the Southwestern Division Committee and maintains the William P. Foster Project website, serving bands and band directors in underserved and under-resourced communities. Dr. Webb is Co-founder of I See You: Affirming Representation in Music, an organization aimed to affirm Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC) in all fields of music. This organization provides a safe space for mentorship and networking opportunities. It is also a resource for people who identify differently to learn of the BIPOC experiences to navigate and champion a more equitable environment for all.
Dr. Webb’s professional affiliations include the College Music Society, the National Association for Music Education, Texas Music Educators Association, the College Band Directors National Association, Women Band Directors International, Tau Beta Sigma, and Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.
