Stately Oaks Music Festival

Dr. Mark Laycock is a Professor of Music at Wichita State University, where he holds the Ann Walenta Faculty of Distinction Endowed Professorship. He has been recognized with the WSU Excellence in Creative Activity Award and the College of Fine Arts Excellence in Teaching Award. He serves as Director of Orchestras and Area Coordinator of Strings. WSU Symphony Orchestra appearances under his direction include international tours to Spain and Canada, a concert at Carnegie Hall, and multiple invited performances at Kansas Music Educators Association In-Service Workshops. Dr. Laycock is a member of the Board of Directors of the Midwest International Band and Orchestra Clinic; he serves as Chair of Orchestra Activities. He is conductor of the Wichita Youth Symphony and Director of the Wichita Youth Orchestras Program.

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Steven D. Davis has inspired ensembles around the world and is celebrated as a conductor of wind ensembles, orchestras, opera, ballet, and new music ensembles. In addition to conducting symphonic repertoire of significant composers, Davis is fervently committed to initiating and performing new repertoire written by both emerging and acclaimed living composers, with intentional focus placed on collaborating with diverse artists. Praise stems from Chen Yi, John Corigliano, Michael Daugherty, Roshanne Etezady, Jennifer Higdon, Narong Prangcharoen, Ingrid Stölzel, and Zhou Long, amongst countless others.

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Dr. Rhoden serves as the Assistant Professor of Music Education and conductor of the Symphonic Band at the University of West Georgia and is recently retired from the public schools of Alabama and Georgia after serving for thirty years as a high school band director. She is founder of the Athena Music and Leadership Camp (AthenaCamp.com), an all-girls music program created to promote musical excellence while emphasizing leadership skills. Rhoden frequently serves as a guest conductor for state, regional, and university honor bands and is honored to have presented sessions at The Midwest Clinic, various national, state and regional conferences, and for school systems and professional development clinics throughout North America.

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Hailing from Lincoln, Nebraska, Liz Love is an active classical and jazz saxophonist and music educator in the Austin, Texas area. She is currently in her third year as the Director of Bands at Leander Middle School. Previous to her time at LMS, she was the Director of Bands at Grisham Middle School, and the Assistant Band Director at Running Brushy Middle School in Leander ISD. Her ensembles consistently receive UIL Sweepstakes ratings, and her students have earned Outstanding Soloist honors at Austin area jazz festivals. In 2019, the Grisham Middle School Honors Band was selected to perform at The Midwest Band and Orchestra Clinic!

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David Saccardi is Assistant Professor of Music Education at Louisiana State University, where he directs graduate research and teaches courses in the psychology of music, graduate string pedagogy, quantitative analysis, and experimental design. Additionally, he teaches courses in the undergraduate music teacher preparation sequence, including methods of string performance and secondary instrumental methods, a course that includes a fieldwork partnership with the University Laboratory School.

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