Dr. Michael McConnell

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Dr. Michael McConnell serves as the director of the Wind Ensemble and the instructor of clarinet and saxophone at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. In addition to his duties at UAF, he also teaches Band and Orchestra at North Pole High School in North Pole, Alaska. He also the director of the Youth Symphony of Fairbanks Youth Orchestras.

Prior to his 2021 appointments in Alaska, Dr. McConnell served as the Associate Director of Bands at Cy-Fair High School in Cypress, Texas where he taught the Wind Ensemble, Symphonic Winds, Symphonic Band, Concert Winds, Concert Band, and the marching band, in addition to serving as the instructor of record for all woodwind courses.

During his tenure at Cy-Fair High School, the band program grew to national prominence, earning multiple trips to the Texas UIL 6A State Marching Contest, and a consistent presence as a Bands of America Regional Finalist. Its wind ensemble also regularly advanced as a finalist in the Texas UIL 6A State Honor Band Contest, and earned an invitation to perform at the prestigious Midwest Clinic in December of 2018.

In addition to contributing to the success of its ensembles, Dr. McConnell also presided over a period of substantial growth in the individual achievements of Cy-Fair High School’s woodwind students. Of particular note, the percentage of woodwind students accepted to the UIL 6A Region Band more than doubled between 2015 and 2021. The number of woodwind students advancing to the Area level of competition also rose by a factor of six during this same period.

Within the marching arts community, Dr. McConnell brings a diverse background of performing and teaching experience. As a member with the Cadets Drum & Bugle Corps he was a two-time DCI Finalist and Medalist. In addition to his experience as a performer, he has also been a member of the educational and administrative teams at the Seattle Cascades, the Oregon Crusaders, and the Cadets. Dr. McConnell is in demand as an adjudicator/arranger and has worked with numerous groups in Indiana, Florida, and Texas.

Dr. McConnell’s primary musical focus is multiple woodwind performance and pedagogy (flute, oboe, bassoon, clarinet, and saxophone). In addiction to this specialty, he is also a skilled performer on trumpet, and a current piano student at the University of Alaska. Dr. McConnell earned a Bachelor of Music Performance from the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University Bloomington, a Master of Music Performance with a secondary field in Jazz Studies from the College of Music at Florida State University in Tallahassee, Florida, and a Doctor of Musical Arts in Multiple Woodwind Performance and Pedagogy with a cognate in Music Theory from the the College of Music at the University of North Texas in Denton, Texas.

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