Concert Festival Clinicians
Dr. Gregory X. Whitmore
Dr. Gregory X. Whitmore is
an Assistant Professor of Instrumental Music Education, at The California State
University Fullerton School of Music.
In this capacity, Dr.
Whitmore teaches in the Instrumental Music Education Program, supervises
student teachers and conducts the CSUF Symphonic Winds.
In addition to his work in
higher education,
Dr. Whitmore
is in his ninth season as Music Director of the Pacific Symphony Youth Wind
Ensemble (Irvine, CA). This follows appointments as Director of Bands at Irvine
Valley College (Irvine, CA), Mt. San Antonio College (Walnut, CA), and College
of the Desert (Palm Desert, CA). Prior to his work in higher education, Dr.
Whitmore spent 13 years as Director of Bands at Cathedral City High School
(Cathedral City, CA). A native of Ypsilanti, Michigan; Dr. Whitmore received
his bachelor
’s degree in instrumental music education
from The University of Michigan School of Music, Theater and Dance in Ann
Arbor, Michigan. While a student at The University of Michigan, Dr. Whitmore
performed in the University of Michigan Bands; and led the University of
Michigan Marching Band as “
Michigan’s Man Up Front” - Drum
Major - from 1999 to 2001. Dr. Whitmore received his master's degree in music
with an emphasis in wind conducting from California State University Fullerton
studying under Dr. Mitchell Fennell. Dr. Whitmore holds a master’s degree,
and a doctorate in music and music education from Columbia University (Teachers
College) in the city of New York.
Dr. Whitmore has conducted ensembles
in such notable concert venues as The Golden Hall of The Musikverein (Vienna),
The Wiener Konzerthaus (Vienna), The MuTh (Vienna), Renee and Henry Segerstrom
Concert Hall (Costa Mesa), Symphony Hall (Chicago), The Kennedy Center
(Washington, D.C.), Carnegie Hall (New York City), Walt Disney Concert Hall
(Los Angeles), Meng Hall (Fullerton, California), Holy Trinity Church
(Stratford, England), St. John
’s Smith
Square (London
), Chateau Vaux le Vicomte
(Paris), and Heidelberg Castle (Germany). Under Dr. Whitmore
’s direction, the Cathedral City High School Symphony Band was
selected to perform as the showcase ensemble during the 2008 California Band
Directors Association Annual Convention. Dr. Whitmore is the Second Place
Winner of the 2017 American Prize in Conducting.
Dr. Whitmore belongs to professional
organizations that include College Band Directors National Association, Kappa
Kappa Psi Honorary Band Fraternity, Alpha Delta Phi Fraternity, Phi Mu Alpha
Sinfonia Fraternity, Pi Kappa Lambda Honor Society, The National
Association for Music Education, Southern California School Band and Orchestra
Association, and the California Music Educators Association.
With a research interest in music educator values as
operationalized into pedagogy, in addition to investigating the concert band as
an artistic medium; Dr. Whitmore has presented research at music education symposia
in the United States and abroad. Dr. Whitmore’s research has been published in
Visions
of Research in Music Education.
Dr. Whitmore is a recognized member of
Academic Key’s
Who’s Who in Community College Education, as well as four
editions of
Who’s Who Among
America
’s Teachers. Dr.
Whitmore has been included in the 2005/2006 Edition of the National Honor Roll
’s Outstanding American Teachers. Dr. Whitmore was
selected to represent the State of California by
School
Band and Orchestra Magazine
in the 2008 edition of “50 Band Directors
Who Make A Difference”
.
Learn more about Dr. Whitmore at gwhitmore.com
Kevin Mayse
Kevin
Mayse is currently the Wind Ensemble Conductor and Department Chair of Music at
Riverside City College.
Mr.
Mayse has been the conductor of the California Pops Band, The West Coast Pops
Orchestra, The Hawk-Richard Jazz Orchestra, the Westminster Brass Ensemble and
the Inland Empire Wind Symphony. He has conducted numerous Musical
Theatre Productions and Honor Bands and Orchestras including the Tribute to
John Philip Sousa and Tribute to King Karl King Honor Bands. He is
currently a clinician for the Disneyland Imagination Campus and is very active
as a Wind Ensemble, Symphony Orchestra and Jazz Ensemble clinician.
As
a performer, Mr. Mayse has toured the United States and Japan with Keith Brion
and the New Sousa Band, Vince DiMartino and the New Columbia Brass Band, and
the California Gold Rush Band. Mr. Mayse was one of the founding members
of the Huis Ten Bosch brass ensemble in Nagaski, Japan. Locally he has
performed with Natalie Cole, Bob James, the Smithsonian Jazz Orchestra, the
Nelson Riddle Orchestra, Ringling Brothers, Barnum and Bailey’s Circus, and
numerous groups at Disneyland.
Elisha K Wells
Elisha K. Wells is the Director of Band, Brass and Orchestra at Fresno
City College (FCC). Ms. Wells currently serves as Principal Horn in Sequoia
Symphony, Wind Symphony of Clovis, and has
served as Acting Principal with the Fresno Philharmonic. While her collegiate
studies began in Southern California at Chapman University and later
transferred to the University of Houston, her formal studies include a Bachelor
of Arts and a Master of Arts with an emphasis in Horn Performance from California
State University, Fresno. Prior to serving at FCC, Elisha was the Horn
Instructor and Interim Band Director at Stanislaus State, and Horn Instructor
& Lecturer for Sacramento State, Delta College, and
College of Sequoias.
Elisha currently serves as First Vice President of
California Music Educator Association (CMEA) Central Section, Past President of
Friends of the Arts at Fresno City College, and serves on the Sequoia Symphony
Board. Elisha regularly adjudicates the horn section for All-State Honor Ensembles, Solo and Ensemble, and Regional Honor Band auditions, in addition
to presenting free horn clinics for students and band directors across
California. She has been the Guest Conductor for La Honda Music Camp, Summer
Music at Stanislaus (SMAS), the Tulare-Kings Music
Educators Association (TKMEA) and Stanislaus County Music Educator Association
(SCMEA) Junior High Honor Bands, and the Fresno-Madera County Music Educators
Association (FMCMEA) High School Honor Band. She is a current member of the
College Band Directors National Association (CBDNA), the Local 12 Musicians
Union and the International Horn Society. Elisha maintains an active teaching
studio called the Happy Horn Studio with students from Visalia, Fresno, Clovis,
Modesto,
Sacramento and coastal areas.
Elisha has been an active horn soloist for almost 20
years. Earlier in her career, Elisha performed as a horn soloist in the Tony
Award-winning Broadway show,
“Blast!”, traveling around the United States and performing in large venues for
2 years . She also competed with a group called The Edge for the nationally
televised show called
America’s Got Talent in New York. Ms. Wells has performed solos in Australia, Germany,
Austria, Hungary, and the Czech Republic,
and throughout the west coast with groups including Sequoia Symphony, Kingsburg
Community Band, Stanislaus Community Band, Fresno Community Concert Band, and
the Wind Symphony of Clovis.
Elisha is also a noted Artist and Endorser of Robinson’s Remedies-Lip Renew.
Dr. Leo Sakamoto
Dr. Leo Sakomoto is an Associate Professor of Music and Director of Instrumental Studies at California State University, Bakersfield. He conducts the Concert Band, Symphonic Band, and CSUB/Bakersfield College Joint Orchestra, directs the Pep Band, and teaches courses in music education and conducting. Under his leadership, the CSUB instrumental music program has received several honors, including recognition from the College Band Directors National Association. He is also the founding advisor of the CSUB Collegiate Chapter of the National Association for Music Education.
Dr. Sakomoto received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Music Education from California State University, Los Angeles, where he studied conducting with David Buck, Thomas Miyake and Abel Ramirez, and studied trumpet with Kevin Brown and James Ford. He received his Doctor of Musical Arts and Master of Music degrees in conducting from UCLA under the mentorship of Thomas Lee. He has also studied with conductors such as Richard Floyd, Jerry Junkin, Craig Kirchhoff, Allan McMurray, and H. Robert Reynolds. As part of his continued professional development, Dr. Sakomoto completed three levels of study in the Kodály Method through the Organization of American Kodály Educators.
Dr. Sakomoto is a committed to the creation and performance of new music for wind band, having commissioned directly or involved with consortiums from composers such as Xi Wang, Adam Schoenberg, Andrew Boysen Jr, Roger Zare, Dante De Silva, Kyle Shaw, James Sproul, and Nathan Felix.
Dr. Sakomoto maintains an active schedule as a guest conductor, clinician, and adjudicator at the middle school through university levels. Recent guest conducting engagements include honor bands and orchestras in Texas, South Carolina and California, and orchestral rehearsal clinics in Ecuador. He previously served as Assistant Conductor of the Inland Valley Symphony Orchestra of California. He is active as a conference presenter, previously lecturing on wind band repertoire and conducting, and most recently presenting a clinic on rehearsal efficiency through conducting at the California All-State Music Educators Conference. Awards received include Outstanding College/University Music Educator and Music Educator of the Year, both from the Kern County Music Educators Association. He was an invited participant in the Nordic Wind Band Conducting Competition in Helsinki, Finland.
Dr. Sakomoto currently serves on the boards of the Kern County Music Educators Association and Bakersfield Youth Symphony Orchestra. He is a member of the College Band Directors National Association, the National Association for Music Education, California Music Educators Association, California Band Directors Association, Southern California School Band and Orchestra Association, American String Teachers Association, and the World Association for Symphonic Bands and Ensembles.