Meet the Conductors
Junior Band
Dr. Rich Roberts - Conductor
Dr. Roberts has guest-conducted Honors and All-County Bands and adjudicated at regional and state band and orchestra festivals throughout Maryland. He was a regular contributor to the New Zealand Concert Band Association where he supported the music education community by providing clinics, working in schools with music educators and students, and adjudicating at national festivals.
As a Maryland music educator, Dr. Roberts has worked at all levels in instrumental programs in both Harford and Howard counties. In addition to teaching full-time as elementary and secondary band directors, he was one of the co-conductors of the Howard County Middle School Honors and GT bands. Dr. Roberts joined the music faculty at the Catholic University of America as Director of the Wind Ensemble and Supervisor of Instrumental Music Education until his retirement in 2020.
Dr. Roberts received his DMA from the University of Maryland, College Park in horn performance and was an active free-lance performer in the Baltimore/Washington area for decades. He has performed locally with the National Philharmonic Orchestra, Annapolis Symphony Orchestra, Fairfax Symphony Orchestra, Baltimore Opera, numerous international recording artists, and remained a tenured member of the Washington Ballet Orchestra for twenty years until his retirement this past year.
Junior Mixed Chorus
Evan Powers - Conductor
Evan Powers is currently pursuing his Ph.D. at the University of North Texas. He holds Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in music education from the Florida State University. He spent the first four years of his professional teaching career at Fleming Island High School in Orange Park, FL where he was named “Teacher of the Year” for the 2012-2013 school year. For the following 9 years, he served as the choral director at Avalon Middle School in Orlando, FL. During his tenure his advanced treble choir, Avalon Singers, was selected to perform at the 2019 Florida State ACDA Conference, and he was honored as “Teacher of the Year” for the 2020-2021 school year. He is an active adjudicator, presenter and choral clinician, presenting at conferences and conducting honor choirs across the country. He is also an active choral arranger, arranging pieces for secondary, collegiate, community and church choirs, and a cappella groups across the country and internationally. He is passionate about community service through music, and was the inaugural recipient of the Orange County Public Schools Arts Community Impact Award in 2018 as well as the 2020-2021 Florida Music Education Association Exemplary Model Program Award for the “Songbird” program.
Junior Orchestra
Ann Smith - Conductor
Ann G. Smith began her orchestra training at the age of twelve playing the violin. Mrs. Smith studied music education at Wright State University. After graduating in 1994, Mrs. Smith moved to Texas to begin her teaching career in the Fort Worth ISD.
In 1998, began work with the Martin High School Orchestra Program. In 2008, began her work on Her Master of Music Education with a performance certificate in conducting. In 2008, began her tenure with Flower Mound High School and was selected to perform at the 67th Midwest Band and Orchestra Clinic in Chicago Illinois. In 2014, began her work as the Director of Orchestras at Plano East Senior High School.
Mrs. Smith served as the TMEA Orchestra Division Vice-President from 2021 to 2023 and is a member of Texas Music Educators Association, Texas Orchestra Directors Association and the Texas Music Adjudicators Association, American String Teachers Association. Mrs. Smith has served on the TMAA Committee on Standards of Adjudication and Performance Practice, UIL PML New Music Committee, various region positions and is an active clinician and adjudicator.
Mrs. Smith has been married for 31 years and has two children. Her other passions include fitness, family and church.
Senior Jazz Band
Dave Ballou - Conductor
Trumpeter/Composer Dave Ballou can be heard in a variety of settings, from solo trumpet improvisations to large ensembles. His recordings can be found on the Steeplechase, CleanFeed, pfMentum and the Out of Your Head record labels. Ballou has performed or recorded with Rabih Abou-Kahlil, Steely Dan, Michael Formanek, Mary Halvorson, Woody Herman, Andrew Hill, John Hollenbeck, Sheila Jordan, Oliver Lake, Dave Liebman, Dewey Redman, Maria Schneider and Gunther Schuller. His compositions have been performed and recorded by the Meridian Arts Ensemble, Trumpeter Jon Nelson, French hornist Adam Unsworth, Saxophonist Ellery Eskelin, the TILT Brass Ensemble and the Rose City Brass Quintet. Ballou is a Professor of Music at Towson University teaching in the Jazz and Commercial Music Division.
Senior Commerical Band
Dr. Bryan Powell - Director
Dr. Bryan Powell is an Assistant Professor of Music Education and Music Technology, and a Coordinator for the Recording Arts and Production degree at Montclair State University. Bryan teaches classes in popular music, modern band, and music technology, and directs the Montclair State popular music ensemble. Bryan is also the Chief Program Officer for Music Will and former Director of Programs for Amp Up NYC, a partnership between Berklee College of Music and Little Kids Rock. A former NYC public school music teacher, Bryan is the founding co-editor of the Journal of Popular Music Education, co-author of Popular Music Pedagogies: A Practical Guide for Music Teachers (Routledge), series co-editor for Contemporary Music Making and Learning (Intellect Books), and editor of The Modern Band Handbook (OUP). Bryan was the co-director of the 2022 NAfME All-National Honor Ensemble for Modern Band, and co-director of the 2023 NAfME All-Eastern Division Honor Ensemble for Modern Band. He serves as the Executive Director of the Association for Popular Music Education and is the past-Chair for the NAfME Popular Music Education Special Research Interest Group.
Senior Commerical Band
Dr. Raina Murnak - Director
Dr. Raina Murnak is an Assistant Professor and Head of Contemporary Voice & Performance Artistry and Program Director of the MA in Popular Music Pedagogy at the University of Miami’s Frost School of Music where she has been innovating in higher education for the last 20 years. As a multi-talented performer, vocalist, songwriter, producer, performance coach, visual artist, actress, and choreographer, with over 20 years of experience on stage, on television, and in the studio, Murnak brings great depth and breadth to her work with artists. As a clinician and thought leader, Murnak speaks on Stage Presence, Popular Voice, Movement, and Strength-Centered Pedagogies. Her book Positive Psychology for Music Professionals- Character Strengths is now available (Routledge). She recently performed off-Broadway in her musical Belva, co-written with actress Janine Turner. She is also featured as a vocalist on several of Pharrell Williams’ productions and is developing the music curriculum for his school YELLOWHAB. She holds BA and MA degrees in Vocal Performance and Composition from the State University of New York at Stony Brook and a DMA in Music Theory/Composition and Vocal Pedagogy from the University of Miami. Additionally, she also holds a certificate in Instructional Design from Oregon State.
Senior Band
Dr. T. André Feagin - Conductor
Dr. T. André Feagin serves as Director of Bands in the Department of Music at Central Washington University where he guides the educational and artist vision of a comprehensive band program. He heads the graduate wind conducting program and serves as the conductor of the Wind Ensemble, the preeminent wind band at CWU. Under his leadership, the Wind Ensemble was a featured performer at the 2022 College Band Directors National Association Western/Northwestern Division Conference and invited to perform at the 2024 World Association for Symphonic Bands and Ensembles International convention in Gwangju, South Korea.
Dr. Feagin has appeared as a guest conductor with numerous All-state, honor bands, and professional bands and orchestras throughout the United States, Canada, Central and Southwest Europe, and Southeast Asia. In addition, he has been invited to speak on conducting, diversity and inclusivity in music education, and leadership at numerous music educators’ conferences across the United States and around the globe. He holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in wind conducting from the University of Arizona Fred Fox School of Music where he was a student of the late Gregg I. Hanson.
Senior Mixed Chorus
Dr. Marques Garrett - Conductor
A Virginia native, Marques L. A. Garrett (he/him) is Associate Professor of Choral Studies at the University of North Texas. He earned his PhD in Music Education (Choral Conducting) at Florida State University.
An active conductor, Dr. Garrett is the founding conductor of the Nebraska Festival Singers. He has served as a guest conductor or clinician with several school, church, community, and festival/honor choirs throughout the country. In addition to his conducting classes at UNL, he leads conducting workshops at other universities and conferences.
A versatile voice that performs both as a baritone and countertenor, Dr. Garrett has sung with several community, church, and university groups as both a chorister and soloist. He was the countertenor soloist in the European premiere of Dan Forrest’s Jubilate Deo in Limerick, Ireland. Currently, he sings with the Festival Singers of Florida and Jason Max Ferdinand Singers.
Dr. Garrett is an avid composer of choral and solo-vocal music whose compositions have been performed to acclaim by high school all-state, collegiate, and professional choirs including Seraphic Fire and the Oakwood University Aeolians. His compositions are available through several publishers.
Senior Treble Chorus
TC O'Brien - Conductor
Mrs. TC O’Brien received her Bachelor's in Music Education and Master's Degree in Choral Conducting from the University of Maryland, College Park. She taught middle and high school choral music for 30 years, directed a semester at both the College of Southern MD and St. Mary’s College of Maryland, and retired from Charles County Public Schools in 2017. From 2017-2021 TC served as Artistic Director of St. Maries Choral Arts, and in 2023 started a new music nonprofit in Southern Maryland: Hope in Harmony. TC’s choral ensembles performed for many prestigious events including the “Festival of Lights”, the Pentagon Joint Chiefs of Staff, the Maryland State House, the State Superintendents Conference, the National School Board Association’s Annual Conference, a joint concert with the United States Army Soldiers’ Chorus, champion at the national “Sing Strong” a cappella competition, the Washington Chorus Candlelight Christmas at the Kennedy Center and Strathmore Music Hall, and opened for the world renown a cappella ensemble the “Pentatonix.” TC was co-chair of the first Maryland Senior All State Women’s Choir in 2002 and is honored to guest conduct the re-inauguration of the choir this year. TC thanks her family and friends for all their love and support!
Senior Orchestra
Dr. Soo Han - Conductor
Dr. Soo Han is the Director of Orchestral Studies at George Mason University’s Reva and Sid Dewberry Family School of Music in Fairfax, Virginia; Music Director of the Elkhart County Symphony in Indiana; and a member of the Board of Directors of the Midwest International Band and Orchestra Clinic. He is a composer and arranger with Hal Leonard, and is also a contributing editor for Essential Elements for Strings. As an active conductor, Dr. Han has appeared with numerous professional and university orchestras. He is a frequent conductor for international, all-state, regional, and honor orchestras, appearing in more than 30 states. Dr. Han is a Conn-Selmer Educational Clinician, and co-author, contributor, and managing editor for Teaching Music through Performance in Orchestra, Vol. 4. Having taught in the public schools for fifteen years, he is a passionate supporter of school music programs, and continues to remain active in instrumental classrooms throughout the country. Soo grew up in rural Pennsylvania, and now resides in Arlington, Virginia, where he has a beautiful view of the monuments of Washington, D.C. He enjoys distance running, eating amazing food, and traveling near and far with his partner, Gregory, and his faithful canine companion, Lenny.
Meet the Accompanists
Junior Chorus
Justin Klaverweiden - Accompanist
Justin Klaverweiden is the vocal and general music teacher at Northwest Middle School in Taneytown, Maryland. He received a bachelor’s degree in vocal and general music from Towson University and a master’s equivalency from Vandercook College of Music. During his tenure at Northwest, he’s directed numerous musicals, led his choirs to superior ratings at county chorus festivals and conducted his sixth-grade choir in the National Anthem at Camden Yards in Baltimore. Over the past several years, he has been one of three middle school teachers to write new curriculum for middle school choruses in Maryland. He is also a member of the American Choral Directors Association and the Maryland Music Educators Association.
Justin is an accomplished instrumentalist, trained in piano, banjo, and guitar. An esteemed accompanist, he has played for many local choirs and Carroll County’s All-County Chorus for many years. He plays banjo as part of a “roots music” band, which was featured in VoyageBaltimore magazine, and has served as the music minister for several churches. A lover of bluegrass music, Justin frequently attends bluegrass festivals and placed first in banjo at the Berlin Fiddlers Convention.
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Senior Mixed Chorus
Jeffrey Winfield - Accompanist
Jeffrey Winfield is the Supervisor of Fine Arts for Harford County Public Schools. Prior to supervision, he was the proud choral director at Edgewood High School. His graduate degree was earned from Florida State University and undergraduate from Towson University. His most enjoyable time of the year is when he is the pianist for the MD All-State Senior Mixed Choir where he has the pleasure of collaborating with amazing student musicians from all over Maryland!
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Senior Treble Chorus
Erin Tennyson - Accompanist
Erin Tennyson is honored to be the accompanist for the 2024 Maryland All State Senior Treble Chorus. Erin was born and raised in St. Mary’s County, MD. She graduated from Leonardtown High School in 2004, then received her Bachelor's Degree in Music Education with a concentration in piano from Lebanon Valley College. After graduation, Erin worked at Benjamin Banneker Elementary School from 2008 – 2012, teaching K - 5 general music and chorus. While working, she earned her Masters Degree in Leadership in Teaching from the College of Notre Dame in Baltimore. Erin is now the Music Director at Lexington Park United Methodist Church. She is also the Co-Conductor and accompanist for the Southern Maryland Encore Chorale, accompanist for St. Mary’s County Public Schools, the College of Southern Maryland Choir, and Hope in Harmony: a non-profit distinguished choir in Southern MD. Recently, she had the honor of being asked to accompany the Charles County High School All County Chorus, Alexandria Choral Society and All-Shore Honors High School Chorus. Erin’s piano career would not be possible without the love and support of her husband, Tim, and her four beautiful children, Claire, Will, Belle, and Hope.
2024 All State Merch
2024 All State merchandise is still available! Click here.
Pre-order Audio and Video Recordings of the concerts here:
2024 All State Programs
February 25, 2024, Baltimore, MD
Senior Mixed Chorus
Senior Treble Chorus
March 9, 2024, Hanover/Baltimore, MD
Senior Commercial Band & Senior Jazz Band
March 10, 2024, Bethesda/College Park, MD
