The first Monday of every May is MUSIC MONDAY. This year, in honour of women in music, Bandology will be spotlighting female conductors in the music industry.
Music Monday is a coast to coast celebration of the power of music! Music has numerous benefits and part of Bandology’s mission is to advocate for equitable accessible music education for all. This Music Monday, let us know what we can do to help bring more music to more kids!
Dr. Colleen Richardson is a Canadian conductor, clinician, adjudicator and professor who is currently the Coordinator of Bands at Western University. She was born in Winnipeg and though she was not from a musical family her music teachers throughout junior high and high school helped her to develop a love for music making. Her main instrument was the saxophone and she loved being a part of her school’s jazz band, which was playing at an exceptional level for musicians their age.
Dr. Richardson received her Bachelor of Music Education from Brandon University, then her Masters of Music Conducting in Wind Conducting from the University of Calgary and finally her Doctorate in Wind Conducting from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. For over a decade, she was a music teacher in various schools throughout Manitoba and Calgary before deciding to return to academia. She worked at Converse College in South Carolina as an Assistant Professor of Music Education and the Wind Ensemble director, before joining the Western Faculty.
Dr. Richardson helped to develop Western’s Young Winds program, where undergraduate students have the chance to conduct an ensemble made up of local students. Dr. Richardson has guest conducted and presented research at conferences around the world, including Ireland, Switzerland, Italy, Taiwan, Indonesia, Japan and throughout the USA. In 2018, she was awarded the Canadian Band Association (CBA) International Band Award. She has also served as the President Elect of the World Association for Symphonic Bands and Ensembles.
Dr. Richardson believes in making rehearsals and music education engaging, that having effective and passionate music educators is the key for so many students to create their love for music. It is this belief that pushes her to continue research on wind band literature, conducting pedagogy and rehearsal techniques.
Dr. Gillian MacKay is a Canadian trumpeter, conductor and educator. Originally from Prince Edward Island, she grew up in Lethbridge, Alberta. Dr. MacKay is currently a Professor of Music at the University of Toronto, where she teaches conducting, orchestral instruments and trumpet as well as conducting the Wind Ensemble. She has an active career as a professional musician, conductor, adjudicator and clinician.
Dr. MacKay received her Bachelor of Music from the University of Lethbridge, her Master of Music from McGill University, and two doctorates from the University of Calgary and Northwestern University. Before arriving at the University of Toronto, she served as Director of the School of Music at the University of Windsor and Instructor of Brass at Medicine Hat College. She has conducted numerous ensembles throughout Canada and the United States – including the National Youth Band in 2001 – as well as judged competitions in the US, Singapore, Thailand and Korea. Dr. MacKay presents and guest instructs at clinics and workshops throughout Canada and the United States, including leading the University of Toronto’s Wind Conducting Symposium each July. She also adjudicates Canadian bands at local, provincial and national levels and is the Associate Conductor of the Denis Wick Canadian Concert Band.
Focusing on the relationship between conducting and mime in her research, Dr. MacKay also investigates the use of acting techniques and movement into her conducting. Other areas of research include 19th century French trumpet and cornet repertoire, and 19th century French wind band repertoire
Dr. Cynthia Johnston Turner is a conductor, clinician and music educator who holds dual citizenship with Canada and the United States. She currently serves as the Dean of the Faculty of Music at Wilfrid Laurier University. Previously, she was the Director of Bands at the Hugh Hodgson School of Music at the University of Georgia.
Dr. Turner received her Bachelor of Music and Bachelor of Education from Queen’s University, her Master of Music in Music Education and Conducting at the University of Victoria and her Doctor of Musical Arts in Conducting from the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, NY. Inspired by touring with ensembles, her master’s thesis was about the musical and personal transformations that occur on tours. Dr. Turner has earned numerous awards for her conducting and teaching, including the National Leadership in Education Award (the Reader’s Digest Foundation), the Excellence in Education Award (Ontario Secondary School Teachers Federation) and was nominated for the Canadian Prime Minister’s Leadership in Teaching Award.
Dr. Turner has conducted the the National Youth Band of Canada, the Syracuse Symphony and the Society for New Music Ensemble in Syracuse, NY, the Eastman School at the University of Rochester, the Performing Arts Institute at Wyoming Seminary in Pennsylvania, the Orquesta Sinfonica de Heredia in Costa Rica, the Latin America Honour Band, the National Youth Wind Ensemble of Great Britain, the Paris Lodron Ensemble in Salzburg, Austria and numerous state honour bands. She presents her research on teaching and technology, research techniques and more both nationally and internationally.
Dr. Danielle Gaudry is a Canadian professor and conductor. She is currently an Associate Professor of Music at California State University East Bay where she also serves as Director of Bands and Coordinator of Instrumental Music. She has conducted many of the school’s ensembles; currently she conducts the Wind Symphony and the Chamber Winds.
Dr. Gaudry received her Bachelor of Music from McGill University, her Bachelor of Education from the University of Toronto, then a Graduate Diploma of Fine Arts in Wind Conducting from the University of Calgary. She then earned her Master of Music in Conducting from the Pennsylvania State University and her Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Wind Conducting from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music.
Dr. Gaudry taught high school instrumental music in Winnipeg for seven years, where she led her ensembles to great success, ranking among the top bands in the province of Manitoba. She also spent time serving in the Canadian Armed Forces, where she was the Director of Music for the Regimental Band of the Royal Winnipeg Rifles from 2002-2010, and taught conducting at the Canadian Forces Logistic Training Centre, Music Division. She later served as the Associate Conductor with the 38th Infantry Division Band, Indiana National Guard from 2010-2013. Dr. Gaudry focuses her research on topics of chamber wind ensemble repertoire and the history of early chamber wind ensembles. She serves as a clinician and adjudicator throughout the States and Canada.