All State Orchestra
Conductors
All State Middle School Strings
Dr. Gail Barnes
Dr. Gail V. Barnes (BM, MM University of Michigan; Ph.D. The Ohio State
University) teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in music education at
the
University of South Carolina. She also serves as director of the internationally
recognized USC String Project. Her duties as Director of the USC String Project include
overseeing a staff of preservice teachers and graduate students who instruct over
400 children and adult students annually. Within the program, she directs the
advanced middle school ensemble “Intermezzo.”
She has published articles in
American String Teacher, The Journal of String Research, Update, Music Educators
Journal, The Bulletin of the Council on Music Education and the Journal of Research
in Music Education. She edited Applying Research to Teaching and Playing Stringed
Instruments, a book that includes work by eighteen leaders in string education. She
also serves on the editorial board of the Journal of Music Teacher Education.
She has
presented at conferences of the Music Educators National Conference,
American String
Teachers Association, the College Music Society and the International
Society of Music
Education. Dr. Barnes has also presented clinics for teachers, conducted
student honor ensembles and judged orchestra festivals throughout the United States.
Her public school teaching experience includes all levels of school orchestra. Her
performing experience includes being a member of the viola section of the
Virginia Symphony and Virginia Opera Association
All State 9/10 Orchestra
Dr. Stephen Benham
Dr. Stephen Benham is currently Associate Professor of Music Education at Duquesne
University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He completed his undergraduate training at
the University of Minnesota, and conducted his graduate studies at the University of
Michigan (M.M.), and the University of Rochester—Eastman School of Music (Ph.D.).
At Duquesne, Dr. Benham teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in music
education and string pedagogy and is the director of Strings Without Boundaries,
an international workshop that features dual tracks in alternative styles teacher-training
and performance. Prior to this, Dr. Benham held teaching and conducting positions
in
both public and private schools in Salem, Oregon, and in Ann Arbor and Grand
Haven, Michigan. He also served as the Music Director for the Salem Youth Symphony
Association in Salem, Oregon and the Holland Area Youth Symphony in Holland,
Michigan. Dr. Benham maintains a very active schedule as a guest conductor,
clinician, and adjudicator, with professional appearances in nearly 30 states and
throughout Europe. His schedule for 2011–2012 includes guest conducting and/or
teaching engagements in Ukraine, Estonia, Norway, California, Florida, Georgia,
Missouri, New Jersey, Oregon, New York, and Pennsylvania. Dr. Benham is a frequent
presenter at national and state conventions, including the American String Teachers
Association and MENC: The National Association for Music Education. His areas of
specialty include string pedagogy, methods, curriculum, assessment, and teacher
training. His research interests center on sociological and cultural issues in music
education, including studies on increasing music access in underserved populations,
the role of music education in ethnic minority communities, culturally relevant
pedagogy, and music education and identity construction. His work has been
featured in numerous international research seminars and conferences such as the
Society for Ethnomusicology. Dr. Benham is the lead author of the ASTA String
Curriculum: Standards, Goals, Learning Sequences for Essential Skills and Knowledge
in K–12 String Programs. He has also authored several articles and chapters for scholarly
journals or books including American String Teacher and Journal of Music Teacher
Education.Dr. Benham is also an active consultant in the development of new
music programs in communities without current string programs. He is the director
of ASTA’s Increasing Access to Strings program, which focuses on implementing
string programs in underserved communities in the US. Dr. Benham also provides
ongoing guidance to new music education projects in Eastern, Northern, and
Central Europe. Under his direction, more than 20 new community music
schools have been founded in Ukraine since 1999.
All State 11/12 Orchestra
Jung-Ho Pak
Described by the New York Times as a conductor who "radiates enthusiasm" and
the Los Angeles Times as "a real grabber", Jung-Ho Pak is known for his unique vision
of the role of classical music. Orchestra Nova San Diego appointed Mr. Pak as Artistic
Director and Conductor in 2006, and in 2007 he was named Artistic Director and
Conductor of the Cape Cod Symphony Orchestra (second largest in Masschussetts
to
the Boston Symphony Orchestra). Since 2003, he has been Director of Orchestras
and Music Director of the World Youth Symphony Orchestra and at the Interlochen
Center for the Arts. Mr. Pak is also Music Director Emeritus of the New Haven Symphony
Orchestra. As Music Director of the San Diego Symphony Orchestra (1997-2002), Mr. Pak
led the orchestra from bankruptcy to an unprecedented financial success. As a nationally recognized educator, he served as Music Director with the University of Southern
California (USC) Symphony and the San Francisco Conservatory of Music Orchestra.
He has also served as Principal Conductor of the Emmy-nominated Disney Young
Musicians Symphony Orchestra and as Music Director of the Debut Orchestra,
International Chamber Orchestra, NEXT Chamber Orchestra, Colburn Chamber
Orchestra, and Diablo Ballet. Guest conducting has taken him to Europe, the Soviet
Union, South America and Asia. Mr. Pak is also a frequent speaker on television and
radio, as well as a clinician and conductor at national music festivals.