Conducting Symposium

2026 Summer Conducting Symposium

2026 Dates announced!

June 17, 18, and 19, 2026

Seton Hill University Performing Arts Center

Seton Hill University is proud to host the fourth annual Summer Wind Band Conducting Symposium with special guest, Donald J. McKinney. Don is Director of Bands, Professor of Music, and Chair of the Department of Bands at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music.

Join music educators from around the Western PA area and beyond for our three-day event filled with professional development and music-making. The workshop is designed for band directors at all stages of their careers to develop their conducting and teaching skills.

We are pleased to offer two tracks for participation: Full Participant (Max. 12) and Auditor (no limit). Full Participants will engage in all clinics and conduct several pieces with the Westmoreland Symphonic Winds (WSW). Full participants are expected to perform with the WSW while others conduct the ensemble. Auditor will participate in all clinics and observe/perform with the ensemble during the symposium. The auditor option is designed for any conductor interested in learning more about technique and teaching, without the pressure of preparing scores.

Conducting repertoire (to be announced at a later date) will represent standard works from a variety of grade levels. Daily clinics will address topics such as rehearsal techniques, literature and programming, conducting technique, and continued musical growth.

Fees:

$375 Full Participant Fee (Conducts the large ensemble twice per day, participates in all clinics)
$100 Auditor Fee (Observes and/or plays in large ensemble, participates in all clinics.)

Click here to register

Daily Schedule:

9 am - Clinic
10 am - Large Ensemble Conducting Session
noon - Meal (Included)
1 pm - Clinic
2 pm - Large Ensemble Conducting Session
4 pm - end

Act 48 Credit available

Clinicians

Donald J. McKinney, Director of Bands, Professor of Music, and Chair of the Department of Bands at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music.

Donald J. McKinney is Director of Bands, Professor of Music, and Chair of the Department of Bands at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music. He conducts the IU Wind Ensemble, teaches graduate conducting, and provides artistic and administrative leadership for one of the nation’s most historic collegiate band programs. Prior to his appointment at Indiana University in 2024, he served as Director of Bands, Professor of Conducting, and Chair of the Conducting Area at the University of Colorado Boulder College of Music.

An active advocate for contemporary wind music, he is engaged in the commissioning and performance of new works and has collaborated with composers Kevin Day, Stacy Garrop, Carter Pann, Joel Puckett, Carlos Simon, Annika Socolofsky, and Xi Wang. Before joining the faculty at CU Boulder in 2013, he was Director of Wind Ensembles and Associate Professor at the Louisiana State University School of Music, where the LSU Wind Ensemble was invited to perform at the 2013 CBDNA National Conference in Greensboro, North Carolina.

In addition to his university appointments, he has served on the faculties of Interlochen Arts Academy and Duquesne University Mary Pappert School of Music. From 2010 to 2015, he was Coordinator of Bands for the Interlochen Arts Camp, conducting the World Youth Wind Symphony and overseeing the summer band program. As a guest conductor, he has appeared with ensembles including the Dallas Winds, Concordia Santa Fe, the Boulder Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Greater Boulder Youth Orchestra, as well as numerous honor bands. He has also conducted concerts and clinics in Canada and Costa Rica, and performances with the Dallas Winds have been featured on National Public Radio’s Performance Today.

As a teacher of conducting, he is a frequent clinician and has presented masterclasses at universities throughout the United States, including the University of Missouri–Kansas City Conservatory, East Carolina University, Austin Peay State University, Pacific Lutheran University, the University of Central Florida, Eastern Washington University, the University of Central Missouri, West Chester University, and UCLA. His recording credits include projects with the Dallas Winds, the University of Michigan Symphony Band, the University of Texas Wind Ensemble, the University of North Texas Wind Symphony, the Keystone Wind Ensemble, and the Duquesne University Wind Symphony. He was nominated for a 2019 Grammy Award for producing the Dallas Winds recording John Williams at the Movies.

His writing and scholarship appear in five volumes of Teaching Music through Performance in Band and in The Conductor’s Companion (Meredith Music). He also authored a chapter on Pulitzer Prize–winning composer Jennifer Higdon for Women of Influence in Contemporary Music (Scarecrow Press) and was featured in The Instrumentalist in 2017. Following participation in the Frederick Fennell Conducting Masterclass, he was named a finalist for the Conductors Guild’s Thelma A. Robinson Award. His professional service includes leadership within the College Band Directors National Association, most recently as President-elect of the Southwestern Division during the 2023–24 academic year. He has been nominated for an LSU Alumni Association Faculty Excellence Award and is an honorary member of Kappa Kappa Psi and Phi Beta Mu.

Dr. McKinney holds the Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Conducting from the University of Michigan, where his primary mentor was Michael Haithcock. He also completed additional studies with H. Robert Reynolds and Frank Battisti.

Dr. Christopher Marra - Assistant Professor of Music, Director of Instrumental Activities, Seton Hill University

Dr. Christopher M. Marra is currently the Director of Instrumental Activities at Seton Hill University. As a part of his duties, Dr. Marra conducts the Westmoreland Symphonic Winds, the Griffin concert band, and teaches courses in music education, conducting, and brass. He holds a B.S. in Music Education from Duquesne University, a MM in Music Education with an emphasis in wind band conducting from Northwestern University, and a Ph.D. in Music Education with an emphasis in wind band conducting from the University of Michigan. Prior to his university teaching, Dr. Marra taught high school band and orchestra for 10 years in San Jose, CA where he held board positions with the CMEA Bay Section and the California Band Directors Association. He is an active member and presenter at a variety of state, national, and international education organizations including: National Association for Music Educators (NAfME), the Midwest Band and Orchestra Clinic, Pennsylvania Music Educators Association (PMEA), Michigan Music Educators Association (MMEA), Indiana Music Educators Association (IMEA), and California Band Directors Association (CBDA), and American Educational Research Association (AERA). Dr. Marra authored and co-authored several articles in the field of music education and has been published in the Journal of Research in Music Education (JRME), the Journal of Music Teacher Education (JMTE), and the Music Educator’s Journal (MEJ). He is a contributing author to chapters in The Oxford Handbook of Preservice Music Teacher Education and Critical Issues in Music Education: Contemporary Theory and Practice both published by Oxford University Press. Dr. Marra is an active guest conductor, clinician, and adjudicator for several state and national organizations including Drum Corps International (DCI). His research interests include: social influence in music education, music teacher retention, and undergraduate teacher preparation.

For questions

Contact Michelle Walters, Director of Community Relations for the School of Visual and Performing Arts walters@setonhill.edu.