Faculty Biographies
H. ROBERT REYNOLDS is the former Principal Conductor of the Wind Ensemble at the University of Southern California where he was the H. Robert Reynolds Professor of Music. Prior to USC, he was Director of Bands and The Henry Thurnau Professor at the University of Michigan. In addition, he is the Conductor of the Detroit Chamber Winds and Strings, a professional ensemble made up primarily of members of the Detroit Symphony.
Reynolds holds an Honorary Doctorate from Duquesne University in addition to degrees from the University of Michigan. He has conducted in many of the major concert halls of the United States, Scandinavia, Asia, Australia, and Europe, including the premiere of an opera for La Scala Opera, and performances at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center (NYC), Orchestra Hall (Chicago), Disney Hall (LA), and the Concertgebouw (Amsterdam).
Reynolds is Past President of several important musical organizations including CBDNA, from whom he received the first "Lifetime Achievement Award". He has also received a "Special Tribute" from the State of Michigan and the "Medal of Honor" from the Midwest Clinic. He is currently the conductor of the Tanglewood Institute Wind Ensemble, and many of his former students now hold major conducting positions at leading conservatories and universities.
He has appeared as featured conductor for organizations such as CBDNA, WASBE, ABA, the Midwest Clinic, MENC, and BASBWE. Following his doctoral degree in Performance at the Eastman School of Music, he pursued conducting studies in Japan, Russia, Europe, and at Tanglewood. His numerous recordings are recognized as performance models that have expanded the repertoire.
His performing, teaching and conducting career has included positions in Canada and the U.S., as Professor of Music (Emeritus) at the University of Calgary, Director of Wind Studies at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (CCM), and currently as the Director of Performing and Visual Arts at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), where he conducts the Caltech Wind Orchestra and Caltech Symphony Orchestra. He is also the conductor of TEMPO, a professional contemporary chamber ensemble based in Los Angeles.
His service to the profession has encompassed appointments as Artistic Director of the International Youth Wind Orchestra, Founding Conductor of the Orquesta Latinoamericano de Vientos (Wind Orchestra of Latin America), and election as President of the World Association for Symphonic Bands and Ensembles (WASBE).
FRANK TICHELI is Professor of Composition at the University of Southern California's Thornton School of Music where he has received the Virginia Ramo Award for excellence in teaching, and the Dean's Award for Professional Achievement.
He has won the NBA/William D. Revelli Memorial Band Composition Contest and is a three-time recipient of the "Arts and Letters Award" from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. Other honors include the Hall of Fame Award from the University of Michigan, plus honorary membership to Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia and the A. Austin Harding Award by the American School Band Directors Association, both honoring his significant contributions to music and education in the US. A renowned composer of choral, orchestral and chamber works, many of his compositions for concert band are recognized as "standards" in the repertoire.
GARY HILL, Professor of Music and Director of Bands Emeritus at Arizona State University, where he taught from 1999-2019, is one of the most sought-after guest conductors and clinicians in the instrumental music education field. As a conductor, appearances in more than a dozen countries and throughout the United States have included performances with myriad high school honor bands, numerous college and university wind bands and orchestras, many professional ensembles, at the Midwest International Band and Orchestra Clinic, and at World Association of Symphonic Bands and Ensembles' conferences. As a clinician, Hill has presented hundreds of workshops on conducting and rehearsal technique for music teachers of all levels and has worked with thousands of bands and orchestras and their teachers. Professor Hill is currently a Conn-Selmer Educational Clinician.
During Professor Hill's 39 years as a collegiate conducting teacher, he taught scores of undergraduate and graduate conducting students and served as the primary mentor for 53 wind band conducting majors, 8 who are serving as conductors of US Armed Forces' ensembles and other professional groups, and 42 who won university teaching positions.