Composers
Matt Neufeld
A graduate of the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg, Canada, Matt Neufeld (b. 1985) does his best to compose, teach and play music for as many people as he can convince or coerce. Matt spends most of his days working with amazing middle school band students at Ecole Van Walleghem in Winnipeg, where he's been teaching since 2016. In his spare time, Matt enjoys competitive board gaming, playing his wife's favourite songs on the piano in ways that do not endear him to her, and having his three children try to beat him at Mario Kart.
Matt is grateful to be published by Randall Standridge Music, Grand Mesa Music, Tapspace, Eighth Note Music, and through his own website.
Andrew David Perkins
Composer, conductor, and GRAMMY® nominated music educator Andrew David Perkins (b.1978) holds an advanced specialist certificate in orchestration from the Berklee College of Music, a Master of Music degree from the University of Michigan, and a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Michigan State University. Finalist for The National Band Association Revelli Award, Merrill Jones Award, and The Ravel International Composition Prize, Perkins' music is regularly performed at state, national, and international contests & conferences, and at the Midwest International Band Clinic. Mr. Perkins is the winner of the 2018 National Band Association/Alfred Publishing Young Band Composition Contest, and the 2021 American Prize in Wind Band Composition. His concert band suite "TUEBOR" was selected as the winner of the 2023 American Bandmasters Association Sousa/Ostwald Composition Contest.
Mr. Perkins has received commissions from a number of organizations including The Royal Academy of Music London, Le Conservatoire de Limonest, The Michigan School Band and Orchestra Association, Bowling Green State University, The Flint Youth Symphony Orchestra, and his works have been performed by hundreds of ensembles around the world. His music is exclusively published through APOLLO STUDIOS Music Publishing (ASCAP) and he resides in Michigan with his family.
Carol Brittin Chambers
Carol Brittin Chambers, composer and arranger, is currently the composer and owner of Aspenwood Music. She lives in San Antonio, Texas, where she is also on the music faculty at Texas Lutheran University, teaching composition and serving as Composer in Residence.
Chambers is commissioned each year to compose and arrange works for concert band, marching band, orchestra, and chamber ensembles. Her concert works have been selected to the J.W. Pepper Editors’ Choice List and the Bandworld Top 100 and have been performed at state educator conferences across the country, including the Midwest Clinic. She was most recently named the winner of the 2019 WBDI (Women Band Directors International) Composition Competition.
Chambers has arranged and orchestrated show music for numerous high school marching bands across the country, as well as The Crossmen DrumCorps. High schools include CT Johnson HS, San Antonio, TX (2020 6A State Champion, 2019, 2016, 2011 BOAGrand Nationals Finalist, 2017 BOA San Antonio Super-Regional, Austin, & Midland Champion, 2014 BOA San Antonio Super-Regional & Houston Champion, multi-year State Finalist), Keller HS, TX (2015 BOA Grand Nationals Finalist, 2017 & multi-year BOA Regional and State Finalist), Broken Arrow Senior High School, OK (2006 BOA Grand Nationals Finals Champion), and Ronald Reagan High School, San Antonio, TX (2005 Bands of America Grand Nationals Semi-Finals Champion), to name a few. In addition to her own shows, she also orchestrates the shows of Aaron Guidry, at www.yataforluda.com.
Before coming to TLU, Chambers taught middle school and high school band and private lessons for many years in the North East Independent School District, San Antonio, TX. She has also consistently performed with groups such as the Mid-Texas and San Antonio Symphonies.
Chambers received a Bachelor of Music Education from Texas Tech University and a Master of Music in Trumpet Performance from Northwestern University. She studied under Vincent Cichowicz, Will Strieder, John Paynter, Arnold Jacobs, and James Sudduth. She and her husband Mark have three children: Catherine, Joshua, and Julia.
Christina Huss
With a career spanning 35+ years in music education, Christina M. Huss has taught and conducted bands at both the middle school and high school level, most recently as Director of Bands at Valdosta Middle School, where she retired in 2016. Throughout her career, Ms. Huss’ bands have performed in multiple venues throughout the Southeastern United States and have consistently received superior ratings in various state and regional events.
Ms. Huss has served in a variety of roles in state music affiliations, and has enjoyed several honors and awards, including Teacher of the Year and STAR Teacher, during her 28-year tenure at Brooks County High School in Quitman, GA. Since retiring, Christina enjoys composing music for band, and continues to teach band part-time for the Lowndes County, GA Band Program. Prior to coming to Lowndes County, she served as Director of Bands at both Valdosta Middle School in Valdosta, GA and Berrien Middle School in Nashville, GA.
Ms. Huss is a founding co-director and conductor of the Azalea Winds Community Band based in Valdosta, GA, where she continues to perform and serve as an adjudicator, guest conductor, and clinician. Ms. Huss is also a published band music composer, publishing with Excelcia Music in Lakeland, Florida. Several of her compositions are listed as Editor’s Choice selections with J.W. Pepper Music Inc. She is a member of St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church in Valdosta, GA, and most recently, has become a proud grandmother.
JaRod Hall
JaRod Hall (b. 1991) is a Texas-native composer, educator, and performer. He holds a bachelor’s degree in music education from the University of North Texas where he studied conducting with Nicholas Williams and Dennis Fisher. JaRod's bands have received consistent sweepstakes awards at the Texas University Interscholastic League Concert and Sightreading Evaluations, as well as being recognized at the state level. In 2018 and 2019, JaRod's bands at Griffin Middle School earned the Citation of Excellence award, honoring the top two non-varsity bands in the state of Texas. Under his leadership, the R. L. Turner Marching Band in Carrollton, TX received 1st divisions and advanced to the Area Marching Contest for the first time in almost a decade; his Varsity band at Sam Houston Middle School in Irving, Texas received the unanimous 1st division ratings from all UIL judges for the first time in the school's history; his Varsity band at Hobby Middle School in San Antonio, TX achieved the same feat for the first time in five years.
JaRod is a tuba and trombone player by trade and has been a part of many esteemed ensembles such as the North Texas Wind Symphony and Symphonic Band, 3 O’ Clock Lab Band, Carrollton Wind Symphony, and Metropolitan Winds. During his time in high school, JaRod made the Texas All-State Band for all four years of his eligibility - the first 3 years of which were on tuba, eventually earning 1st chair Jazz Bass Trombone in the state his fourth and final year. He served as drum major for the 2013 Crossmen Drum and Bugle Corps, and was a member of the 2014 Disneyland All-American College Band.
As a composer, JaRod's compositions appear on the Texas Prescribed Music List, The J.W. Pepper "Editor's Choice" list, and the Bandworld Top 100 list. His composition Lost Woods Fantasy was showcased at the 73rd annual Midwest Clinic in Chicago by the Berkner High School Band composed of the first students JaRod taught as a band director in Richardson ISD. His composition "Silver Fanfare" was selected as a winner of the Dallas Winds Call for Fanfares and "Through the Storm" was selected as the 2021 Barbara Buehlman Prize winner for middle school band - commissioned by David Puckett and the Keller Middle School Band, premiered for Midwest by Robert Herrings the Artie Henry Middle School Band. Additionally, JaRod is a nationwide marching band and WGI arranger and consultant.
JaRod is currently pursuing a Master of Music degree in Composition at Texas State University. He resides in San Antonio, Texas with his wife, Rachel (the smart one in the family) who is a medical student at the University of Incarnate Word School of Osteopathic Medicine.
William Owens
William Owens (b. 1963) is a native of Gary, Indiana. He is a seasoned music educator and very active as a composer, clinician and conductor throughout the United States and Canada. His compositional style for young ensembles displays a keen, practical approach which has firmly established him as a leader in the field. Since 1993, Mr. Owens has written over 200 commissioned and published works for concert band, string orchestra and small ensemble. His music is performed and appears on required music lists nationally and abroad. Principal commissions include those from the California Band Directors Association, the Iowa Bandmasters Association, the South Plains College (TX) Department of Fine Arts, the College of Charleston (SC) and Phi Beta Mu International Bandmasters Fraternity. Several of his works including The Blue Orchid and Maesong have been recorded and analyzed in educational text by the GIA series Teaching Music Through Performance in Band. Other works such as Carpathia, Great Wall, The Tahoka Galop and Tudor Sketches have become staples of the young band repertoire.
William is a 1985 graduate of Chicago’s VanderCook College of Music and the recipient of numerous awards and grants for composition. Professional memberships include the American Society of Composers Authors and Publishers (ASCAP), the Texas Music Educators Association (TMEA), the Association of Texas Small School Bands (ATSSB) and Phi Beta Mu International Bandmasters Fraternity. He is recognized as a Distinguished Alumnus by his alma mater, and a recipient of the Texas Bandmasters Association’s Meritorious Achievement Award.
In January 2014, William formally retired from duty as a band director in Texas after 30 years of service. His spare time interests include sightseeing and reading, particularly motivational material and Presidential biography. A proud Chevrolet Corvette owner/enthusiast, he holds membership with Cowtown Vettes, a non-profit service organization in the Dallas/Fort area. William resides in Fort Worth, TX with his wife and best friend, Georgia.
Tyler Arcari
Tyler Arcari (b. 1989) is a composer, arranger, author, and clinician whose music is played around the world. He received his B.A. and M.S. degrees in music education from Troy University where he studied with composer Ralph Ford and Euphonium under Dr. Mark J. Walker. As a teacher, Tyler has taught at both the middle and high school levels. Tyler’s primary focus when writing has been for the young musician. He became passionate about and interested in the needs of developing musicians as a classroom teacher, and finds writing for musicians at this level to be very rewarding.
Tyler's music can currently be found published through Excelcia Music Publishing, Wingert-Jones Publications and Carl Fischer Music. His original works have been featured on Bandworld Magazine’s Top 100, All-State programs, as well as numerous state contest lists and events such as the Midwest Clinic in Chicago. As an arranger, Tyler has worked with many high school, university, and community groups as well as for professionals such as Carl Hilding “Doc” Severinsen and vocalist Holly Shelton. As a Clinician, Tyler regularly appears as composer in residence as well as guest clinician for honor bands.
Currently, Tyler serves as the Director of Music Production and Editing at Excelcia Music Publishing LLC, Wingert-jones Publications, and RBC Publications. In his spare time, Tyler enjoys playing fantasy-world video games and building his own computers. He is an avid animal lover and lives in Lakeland with his wife Heather, their two rabbits named Maximus and Marshmallow, their peach cat named Otis, and dog named Hilda.
Evan VanDoren
Evan VanDoren is an in-demand music composer regularly commissioned to create engaging & award-winning music for marching bands and concert ensembles at all skill levels. Evan’s music is regularly performed around the country, including premiere performances at the Texas Music Educator’s Association Convention and the Midwest Band and Orchestra Clinic. Currently, Evan serves as brass composer & arranger for the Santa Clara Vanguard Drum and Bugle Corps, from Santa Clara, California.
Evan is an active clinician and has presented for Drum Corps International, the Music Educators National Convention, the Texas Bandmasters Association, the Texas Music Educators Association, and Music for All. He regularly consults with band programs around the country. Additionally, Evan is an active adjudicator with Bands of America, the University Interscholastic League, and the Texas Music Adjudicators Association.
Before devoting his life to creating music, Evan was a band director at Cedar Park High School, in Cedar Park, Texas, during which time the band was awarded multiple marching state championships and national recognition. He received a Bachelor in Music Education with Honors from Butler University in Indianapolis, Indiana. Currently, he lives in Cedar Park, Texas, with his wife, Katie, daughter Anna, and their dog, Cooper.
Brian Balmages
Brian Balmages is known worldwide as a composer and conductor who equally spans the worlds of orchestral, band, and chamber music. His music has been performed by groups ranging from professional symphony orchestras to elementary schools in venues such as Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, Sydney Opera House, Toronto Centre for the Arts, and many more. He is a recipient of the A. Austin Harding Award from the American School Band Directors Association, won the 2020 NBA William D. Revelli Composition Contest with his work Love and Light, and was awarded the inaugural James Madison University Distinguished Alumni Award from the School of Visual and Performing Arts. In the same year, he was commissioned by his other alma mater, the University of Miami, to compose music for the inauguration of the institution’s 6th president, Dr. Julio Frenk. His music was also performed as part of the 2013 Presidential Inaugural Prayer Service, which was attended by both President Obama and Vice President Biden.
As a conductor, Mr. Balmages enjoys regular engagements with all-state and regional ensembles as well as university and professional groups throughout the world. Notable guest conducting appearances have included the Midwest Clinic, Western International Band Clinic, Maryborough Music Conference (Australia), College Band Directors Conference, American School Band Directors Association National Conference, numerous state ASTA conferences, Teatro dell’Aquila (Italy), and others. He is an elected member of the American Bandmasters Association and has taught instrumental conducting at Towson University where he also served as Assistant Director of Bands and Orchestras. Currently, he is Director of MakeMusic Publications and Digital Education for Alfred and MakeMusic.