Faculty
Dr. Sarah McKoin
Director of Bands
Dr. Sarah McKoin is the Director of Bands at Texas Tech University
and Associate Professor of Music as well as Director of the Wind Ensemble
at the Brevard Music Center in Brevard, North Carolina. Dr. McKoin conducts
the Texas Tech University Wind Ensemble and teaches all levels of conducting
and wind literature. She is entering her ninth summer in residence at the
Brevard Music Center where she serves on the conducting faculty and conducts
the Transylvania Wind Ensemble comprised of college-aged musicians from
throughout the country.
Prior to her appointment at Texas Tech, Professor McKoin was the Director of Bands at the University of Missouri-Kansas City Conservatory of Music and held appointments at the State University of New York at Buffalo and SUNY Fredonia. Her UMKC Wind Symphony was selected as a featured ensemble and performed for the 2005 Missouri Music Educator's National Association Conference. In addition, the Wind Symphony under Dr. McKoin's leadership performed for the College Music Society's National Conference and for the opening concert of a nationally recognized month long festival honoring Igor Stravinsky which involved all of Kansas City's major arts organizations. While Director of Bands at the University at Buffalo, the UB Wind Ensemble was invited to perform for the New York State Band Directors' National Association, the first invitation of its kind for that ensemble.
Dr. McKoin maintains an active schedule as a guest conductor and clinician. She served as the 5-A Concert Band All-State Conductor for the Texas Music Educator's Association conference and has been contracted for upcoming Iowa and Florida All-State band festivals. While in Kansas City, she was frequently called upon to guest conduct NewEar, a professional chamber ensemble specializing in contemporary music. In 2001 Professor McKoin traveled to Tel Aviv, Israel to serve as producer for the world premiere recording of Roberto Sierra's Fantasia Correliana with the Castellani-Andriaccio guitar duo on the Fleurdeson label, Arie Lipsky conducting.
Committed to performing literature of today's prominent composers, ensembles under Dr. McKoin's leadership have won the praise of local music critics and guest composers. She has performed several regional and world premieres including works by Chen Yi, Lukas Foss, James Mobberley, Paul Rudy, Dan Welcher, Donald Freund, Walter Hartley, David Maslanka and others. Her position at Brevard has allowed her to collaborate with a number of soloists which include Charles Vernon of the Chicago Symphony, Fred Mills, Tim Morrison, Marty Hackleman, Sam Palafian, Scott Hartmann, Joseph Lulloff, Timothy Northcutt, Rhythm and Brass and the tuba/euphonium ensemble, Symphonia.
Her publications include Leslie Bassett's Colors and Contours: An Analysis for Conductors and Joseph Turrin's Two Sketches published in Volumes 3 and 5 of Teaching Music through Performance in Band. Her DMA research is on the music of Dan Welcher and the ensuing treatise is entitled, Three Places in the West: A Critical Analysis and Reference for Conductors.
McKoin holds her Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University of Texas at Austin as well as degrees from Wichita State University and Michigan State University. She is active in the College Band Director's National Association having served as the New York state chairperson and has taught secondary school in both Michigan and at L.D. Bell High School in Texas.
Duane Hill
Assistant Director of Bands
Goin' Band Director
Duane Hill is Assistant Director of Bands and Director of Athletic Bands. He holds a Bachelor of Secondary Music Education from Texas Tech University under Keith Bearden and Christopher Anderson and a Master of Music in Conducting from Dr. Sarah McKoin.
Mr. Hill teaches classes in Secondary and Marching Band Techniques, Secondary Instrumental Ensemble for choral students, as well as serving as conductor of Concert Band. In service to music education Mr. Hill is currently a leadership facilitator with Solutions and Specialized Innovations (SASI), which specializes in student empowerment in music students, and he serves as a consultant to high school band programs across the state the state.
His professional affiliations include: College Band Directors National Association, Texas Music Educators Association, Texas Bandmasters Association, College Music Society and Kappa Kappa Psi.
Keith Dye
Associate Professor of Music Education
Assistant
Director of Bands
Keith G. Dye is Associate Professor of Music Education and Assistant Director of Bands. He holds the Ed.D. in College Teaching of Music from Teachers College, Columbia University, New York, NY, as well as degrees from West Texas State University, Canyon, TX and Morningside College, Sioux City, IA. Dr. Dye’s primary areas of research interest are the effective use of desktop videoconferencing in delivery of instruction and pre-service music educator preparation.
At Texas Tech University, Dye teaches classes in Secondary Band Techniques of Instruction, Beginning Band Best Practices, Methodology in College Teaching, Methods in Education and Music, as well as serving as conductor of the Concert Band and assisting with all athletic bands.
In service to the music education community, Dr. Dye is Executive Director of the Texas Tech Band and Orchestra Camp and the Texas Tech Middle School Band Academy. He also holds the position of Executive Director of the Foundation for Music Education, a non-profit organization providing support and resources to pre and early service music educators. Additionally, Dr. Dye serves as an instructional consultant to school districts in Texas.
Dr. Dye's ensembles have earned numerous awards and a reputation for a consistently high level of musical excellence. He has presented clinics on instrumental music education techniques and strategies at numerous state and national conventions and served as conductor of numerous regional and all-state ensembles. As a clinician, conductor, and adjudicator, Dr. Dye is in demand as a qualified music educator equally at ease with any age level.
Benjamin Lorenzo
Visiting Assistant
Director of Bands
Benjamin Lorenzo serves as Visiting Assistant Professor of Bands at Texas Tech University, where his responsibilities include conducting the symphonic band, teaching undergraduate conducting, and assisting with the "Goin' Band from Raiderland". Prior to this appointment, Professor Lorenzo served as a graduate teaching assistant at The University of Texas at Austin and is currently a candidate for the Doctorate of Musical Arts degree in Conducting. Raised in Miami, Florida, he received the Bachelor of Music degree in Trombone Performance from Florida International University and the Master of Music in Conducting from The University of Texas at Austin.
Notable guest-conducting engagements during the 2010-2011 season included the West Point Band, as part of the �Great American Works� concert and conducting workshop, serving as an assistant conductor for the Latin American Wind Orchestra, and conducting the Municipal Band of Manizales at the 16th Annual Yamaha International Music Conference in Manizales, Colombia. Future engagements include additional concerts in Colombia and Costa Rica.
As a trombonist, Mr. Lorenzo has performed with collegiate and professional ensembles of all styles throughout the United States, Canada, Europe, and the Caribbean. In addition, he has designed drill and arranged music for high school and college marching bands throughout the country. Before beginning graduate study, he taught in the public schools of Florida and Texas where bands under his direction earned superior ratings and received numerous awards for their performances in Florida, Texas, and Missouri.