Middle School Band
Audrey Murphy
Audrey Murphy is in her first year as Band Director at East Cobb Middle School in Marietta, Georgia. Prior to this appointment, she was Band Director at Hopewell Middle School in Milton, Georgia from the opening of the school in 2004 until 2023. Under her direction, Hopewell ensembles earned consecutive Superior ratings in performance evaluations and appeared as guest performing ensembles at the University of Georgia Middle School Band Festival, the Music for All Southeastern Regional Concert Band Festival, and the Music for All National Concert Festival. The Hopewell Middle School Symphonic Band also performed as a featured ensemble for the Georgia Music Educators Association In-Service Conference in 2010 and 2019.
A native of Columbia, South Carolina, Ms. Murphy is a graduate of East Carolina University. She has performed as a clarinetist with the Long Bay Symphony Orchestra, the Charlotte Civic Orchestra, the Capital City Opera Company of Atlanta, Tara Winds, the Georgia Wind Symphony, and Atlanta-based woodwind quintet Highland5.
Ms. Murphy has served as a guest clinician and adjudicator throughout the United States. She has received the National Band Association’s Citation of Excellence on four occasions for her contributions to the field of concert band. She is also a recipient of the North Fulton Jaycees Outstanding Young Arts Professional Award and was named 2010-2011 Hopewell Middle School Teacher of the Year. In 2022, she was featured in the “50 Directors Who Make a Difference” issue of School Band and Orchestra Magazine. Ms. Murphy is currently chair of the Alfred Music Young Band Composition Contest for the National Band Association.
Middle School Band
DR. MATT KOPERNIAK
Matt Koperniak is the Performing Arts Coordinator for Fulton County Schools where he supervises the district’s comprehensive music education and music therapy programs. Under his leadership, Fulton County Schools continues to be named a “Best Community for Music Education” from the NAMM Foundation, recognizing commitment and access to standards-based and sequential music education for the district’s 90,000 students. He also leads the Senior Music Education Seminar at Georgia State University.
Dr. Koperniak served as Director of Bands at Riverwatch Middle School from 2008-2018. During that time, band enrollment grew from 135 students to over 680 students. Under his direction, the Riverwatch Band Program received the National Program of Excellence Blue Ribbon Award from the National Band Association and the Sudler Silver Cup from the John Philip Sousa Foundation. Invited performances include The Midwest Clinic: International Band & Orchestra Conference, Music for All National Concert Festival, National Band Association & College Band Directors National Association Southern Division conferences, GMEA In-Service Conference, Southeastern United States SEUS Clinic at Troy University, University of Alabama, University of Georgia, and "Strike Up the Band" on WABE 90.1 (NPR). Additional teaching experience includes Georgia Southern University, Johns Creek High School, Norcross High School, and Jefferson High School, as well as directing the Classic City Community Band in Athens, GA.
Dr. Koperniak served as President of the Georgia Music Educators Association from 2021-2023, as well as GMEA Advocacy Task Force Chair (2020), State Band Chair (2017-2019), and State Organizer for Middle School All-State Band (2014-2016). At the GMEA District level, service includes Ninth District Treasurer (2010-2015) and Solo & Ensemble organizer (2010-2018). He has served on the Board of Directors of the National Band Association (2018-2020) and is a frequent adjudicator and clinician throughout the United States, including engagements at University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, University of Nebraska Omaha, and the University of Alabama. He has been published in the Journal of Music Teacher Education and the Music Educators Journal, and he currently serves as Associate Editor for the music education journal TOPICS (Themes, Opinions, Praxes, Innovations, Curriculum, Strategies). Conference presentations include the NAfME National Biennial Music Research and Teacher Education Conference, NAfME Music Program Leaders, The Midwest Clinic, and MayDay Group Colloquia. He has served as a grant panelist for the National Endowment for the Arts, Georgia Department of Education, and Fulton County Department of Arts & Culture.
Dr. Koperniak earned degrees in music education from Boston University and the University of Georgia. He is a 2017 recipient of the UGA Alumni Association "40 under 40" award. Additional recognitions include Riverwatch Middle School Teacher of the Year (2012), Phi Mu Alpha Province Governor of the Year (2013), and GMEA Music Educator of the Year (2020).
Concert Band
JAMES O. SEDA
James O. Seda is currently the Director of Bands at Southwest Dekalb High School. He is a product of the Atlanta Public School System, having graduated from Southside Comprehensive High School. Mr. Seda received his Bachelor of Science Degree in Music Education from Florida A&M University. While there, he studied conducting with Dr. William P. Foster and Dr. Julian E. White. He also studied trumpet in the studio of Dr. Marty Robinson. Mr. Seda has done further studies in the Master of Music Education Program at Northern Illinois University in Dekalb, Illinois.
Mr. Seda has been the Director of Bands at Southwest Dekalb High School since 2001. Prior to that he served as Assistant Director of Bands at Chapel Hill Middle School for two years, the primary feeder school to Southwest Dekalb High School, also assisting with the band program at Southwest Dekalb simultaneously. Mr. Seda is a member of the American Bandmasters Association, Kappa Kappa Psi National Honorary Band Fraternity, Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia Fraternity, Minority Band Directors National Association, Phi Beta Mu International Bandmasters Fraternity, Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, the Screen Actors Guild, International Trumpet Guild, MACE and NAACP. Mr. Seda has been recognized and honored by Who's Who Among America's Teachers multiple times. Mr. Seda is a four-time recipient of the Citation of Excellence award from the National Band Association.
While attending Florida A&M University, Mr. Seda was a very active performer, soon earning the principal trumpet chair in the FAMU Wind Ensemble and Symphonic Band, and the lead trumpet chair in the FAMU Jazz Ensemble. As a member of the world famous 'Marching 100' Mr. Seda served as trumpet section leader for two years, as well as being elected business manager, vice-president, and president in consecutive years.
Mr. Seda has performed in Paris, France, The Montreux Jazz Festival in Montreux, Switzerland and the North Seas Jazz Festival in The Haag, Holland. He has also performed in St. Thomas, Virgin Islands and Jamaica. Television and radio features are also to his credit as CNN displayed his talents in a television documentary on the life of jazz musician Jesse Stone. He has done studio sessions for television and radio commercials, as well as short films and movies. Mr. Seda worked on the 20th Century Fox motion picture DRUMLINE as a music arranger, band organizer, creative consultant, instrumentalist and actor extra.
Mr. Seda maintains an active performance schedule, appearing in venues throughout the United States. Music has impacted and molded Mr. Seda's life, and he feels that he should share and expose his knowledge and experiences with his students so they may have the same opportunities. His educational philosophy is to foster a firm understanding and appreciation of music by exposing his students to its many styles, therefore making them competitive and adaptive in any musical situation.
Concert Band
Dr. Scott Stewart
Scott Stewart is the Music Director and Conductor of the Atlanta Youth Wind Symphony, a position he has held since 1999. He has served on the instrumental music faculties of McCallum High School (Austin, TX), Emory University, the Westminster Schools, and Oak Grove United Methodist Church (Atlanta, GA). He regularly conducts wind band/ensembles, symphony orchestra, and chamber music groups. He has taught courses in conducting, wind band history, and film music.
A native of Cicero, Indiana, Stewart holds a Bachelor of Music Education and Doctor of Music in Conducting from the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University, and a Master of Music from the Butler School of Music at the University of Texas at Austin. Stewart's instructors include Ray Cramer, Stephen Pratt, David Woodley, Eugene Rousseau, Robert Duke, and Jerry Junkin.
Stewart has served as Conductor of the Emory University Symphony Orchestra, Principal Conductor of the Star of Indiana Brass Theatre, Assistant Conductor of the Bloomington Symphony Orchestra, Guest Lecturer and Conductor at the Western Australia Academy of Performing Arts, Director of Instrumental Music for the West Virginia Governor's Honor Program.
Stewart has commissioned, premiered, and recorded numerous wind band/ensemble compositions, including music by Jennifer Higdon, Bruce Broughton, Michael Giacchino, John Mackey, Stephen Paulus, Steven Bryant, Jake Runestad, Jonathan Newman, Libby Larsen, Carolyn Bremer, Kevin Kaska, Todd Stalter, Roger Cichy, Kevin Walcyzk, William Pitts, and others. In November 2012, NAXOS released the"In the World of Spirits") CD for wind band/ensemble on the “Wind Band Classics” label.
Stewart has conducted the Atlanta Youth Wind Symphony at Carnegie Hall (New York, NY), Alice Tully Hall (New York, NY), Walt Disney Concert Hall (Los Angeles, CA), Severance Hall (Cleveland, OH), the Strathmore (North Bethesda, MD), New World Center (Miami Beach, FL), the Midwest Clinic (Chicago, IL), the MENC national conference (Milwaukee, WI) and the GMEA In-State Conferences (Savannah and Athens, GA). AYWS has been featured on Public Radio International’s “From the Top,” and is featured regularly on WABE 90.1’s “Atlanta Music Scene.”
Stewart is the founder and on-air host of “Strike Up the Band,” a program devoted to wind band music on Atlanta’s National Public Radio affiliate, WABE 90.1 FM. He is also heard frequently on air as Music Contributor on “City Lights with Lois Reitzes” with WABE program director Lois Reitzes.
Stewart is a contributing research associate for volumes 2-9 of Teaching Music Through Performance in Band, as well as Teaching Music Through Performance of Marches, all published by GIA. He has presented scholarly papers at the Hawaii International Conference on the Arts and Humanities and the Internationale Gesellschaft zur Erforschung und Förderung der Blasmusik in Oberwelz, Austria. He has also published in The Instumentalist and Music Educators Journal.
Stewart co-founded and facilitated Atlanta-area outreach programs, including the Atlanta Instrumental Conducting Institute, Saxophone Day, Bassoon Day and the Summer Bassoon Extravaganza, International Euphonium Institute, and the Atlanta Trumpet Festival.
An active saxophonist, he is founder and member of the Emory Saxophone Quartet. He has performed on American Public Media’s “Pipedreams Live” hosted by Michael Barone, with the Amelia Island Chamber Music Festival, and at St. Phillip’s Cathedral (Atlanta) and the Cathedral of St. John the Divine (New York City) with organist David Lamb. Two recent CDs feature his playing: “Beyond the Horizon, volume 2” with Adam Frey, euphonium; and Michael Finnerty, piano; and “Gothic Chills and Reverberating Thrills” with David Lamb.
Stewart is the former Manager of the Indiana University Summer Music Clinic for High School Students, where he served on the faculty for over twenty years. Professional memberships include the Conductors Guild, College Music Society, National Band Association, National Association for Music Education (formerly MENC), Georgia Music Educators Association, and the College Band Directors National Association. He is an active guest conductor, teacher, clinician, author, speaker, and saxophonist.
Symphonic Band
DR. Jaclyn Hartenberger
Dr. Jaclyn Hartenberger (Fulbright scholar, 2023 – 2024) is a highly sought performer, with artistry that has attracted significant invitations throughout the world. Under her leadership, ensembles consistently perform at a high level, and her programs are enthusiastically received. Performances have been described as “superb,” “praiseworthy,” “terrific,” “impressive,” and displaying “artistry.”
Jaclyn Hartenberger grew up in St. Louis, Missouri where her mother was her first music teacher. She received her Bachelor of Music Education degree from the University of North Texas, where she performed and recorded with the prestigious UNT Wind Symphony. Jaclyn then taught public school where she developed award-winning band programs as the Associate Director of Bands at both Forestwood Middle School in Flower Mound, TX and Centennial High School in Frisco, TX. She then went on to earn her Master of Music and Doctor of Musical Arts in Conducting from The University of Texas at Austin, where she studied with Jerry F. Junkin. While serving as a graduate conducting associate, she conducted various ensembles, wrote transcriptions, and arranged and charted for the Longhorn Band.
Jaclyn Hartenberger is in her eleventh year as the Associate Director of Bands and Associate Professor of Music at the University of Georgia (UGA) where she conducts the Wind Symphony (WS) and teaches conducting. The WS’s accomplishments and contributions include being: a finalist for the American Prize in Ensemble Performance, the annual featured ensemble at Georgia’s Middle School Band Festival, a featured ensemble at the Georgia Music Educators Association’s state music conference, and an annual invited performer to UGA’s Performing Arts Center’s Saturday Morning Kids Club series. While at UGA, Jaclyn has premiered and recorded major works for the wind repertoire including Kevin Day’s Concerto for Wind Ensemble (which received a Pulitzer Prize nomination) and Adam Gorb’s Concerto for Violin, Viola and Wind Ensemble.
Jaclyn further develops her artistry with the JH Collective, a professional modular ensemble and current finalist for the American Prize. This ensemble has performed Appalachian Spring by Aaron Copland with the Martha Graham Ballet Company and collaborated with soloists David Fung (piano), Liza Stepanova (piano), and Levon Ambartsumian (violin). Jaclyn is also the Artistic Director and conductor for the North Georgia Winds, a community-based wind ensemble in Georgia, USA. She has appeared with numerous ensembles including: the West Point Band (New York, USA), Concordia Santa Fe Wind Ensemble (New Mexico, USA), Festival International de Inverno da USFM (Santa Maria, Brazil), and the Salta Symphony Orchestra in (Salta, Argentina).
Symphonic Band
DR. DAVID KEHLER
David Kehler serves as Director of Bands and Professor of Music at the Kennesaw State University Bobbie Bailey School of Music where he is Music Director and Conductor of the KSU Wind Ensemble. In addition, he supervises and guides all aspects of the KSU Band program, which now enrolls of over 500 band students. Dr. Kehler also teaches courses in instrumental conducting, symphonic repertoire, and twentieth century music. Professor Kehler is the recipient of several awards including the Kennesaw State University College of Arts 2020 Teaching Award, and the 2021 Research and Creative Activity Award. An advocate of new music, Dr. Kehler has commissioned more than two-dozen composers, including several Pulitzer Prize winners to write new compositions for wind ensemble.
Along with his university responsibilities, David Kehler serves as Music Director and Conductor of the Atlanta Wind Symphony, a position he has held since 2017. The AWS, now considered one of the top adult bands in the United States today has recently been a featured ensemble at the 2020 Georgia Music Educators Conference, and the 2021 Midwest International Band and Orchestra Clinic in Chicago.
Previously, David Kehler served as Associate Conductor of America's Premiere Windband; The Dallas Winds and served as Founder and Conductor of the Greater Dallas Youth Orchestra Wind Symphony. Previous academic appointments were at Southern Methodist University, the University of Rhode Island, and Bay City Western High School, in Bay City, Michigan. Growing up in Michigan, Dr. Kehler received his Bachelor of Music Education and Master of Music in Conducting degrees from Michigan State University, followed by his Doctor of Musical Arts degree in instrumental conducting from the University of Texas at Austin.
11-12 Percussion ensemble
OMAR CARMENATES
Omar Carmenates is the Charles Ezra Daniel Professor of Music at Furman University in Greenville, SC where he also serves as the founder and chair of the Council for Equity and Inclusion in Music. Under his direction, the Furman University Percussion Ensemble was named a winner the prestigious 2022 Percussive Arts Society International Percussion Ensemble Competition and, in collaboration with the Shi Institute for Sustainability, has also released premiere recordings of the ecoacoustic percussion music of composer Matthew Burtner through Navona Records. Students of the ensemble have also presented interdisciplinary performances and research at the Percussive Arts Society International Convention, the Ecomusics and Ecomusicologies conference, the nief-norf Summer Festival Research Summit, the International Conference on Romanticism, and the Esri International GIS User Conference.
Omar is also the director, producer, and arranger for the “John Psathas Percussion Project”, a collaboration aimed at recording and performing percussion arrangements of the works of John Psathas, New Zealand’s most prominent composer. The recordings and scores from this project are published through PARMA Recordings and Promethean Publications respectively. Omar’s debut solo recording, entitled The Gaia Theory, was released through Rattle Records in 2013 and he can also be heard on the Cantaloupe Records release of Pulitzer-Prize winning composer John Luther Adams’ Inuksuit for 9-99
outdoor percussionists, a work that he both co-commissioned and directed in its United States premiere. In addition to his duties at Furman, Omar is an avid participant in the pageantry arts whose work can be seen and heard around the globe. While currently serving as an adjudicator for WGI Sport of the Arts, he has also served as a composer/arranger for the Cadets, the Boston Crusaders, and the Spirit of Atlanta Drum & Bugle Corps. Additionally, he has been the percussion arranger for high school programs acrossthe United States including the Bands of America Grand National Champion Tarpon Springs High School Outdoor Performance Ensemble.
Omar is a proud endorser/artist for Grover Pro Percussion, Vic Firth, Inc. Remo Drumheads, Zildjian Cymbals, and Pearl Corporation/Adams Musical Instruments.