Honor Band - Department of Performing Arts - Music - Christopher Newport University

Department of Performing Arts - Music

Honor Band

January 24-26, 2025

Conductor: Dr. Catherine Rand

Dr. Catherine Rand

Dr. Catherine Rand is the Director of Bands and Professor of Music at the University of Southern Mississippi where she conducts the Wind Ensemble, teaches graduate wind conducting, and guides all facets of the University of Southern Mississippi’s comprehensive band program. Prior to her appointment at The University of Southern Mississippi, she served as the Director of Bands at Florida International University and the University of South Carolina Aiken.

Dr. Rand received her Bachelor of Music Education from the University of Tampa, Master of Music in conducting from the University of South Florida, and Doctor of Musical Arts in wind conducting from the University of Miami’s Frost School of Music. Prior to her collegiate teaching career, she taught band and orchestra in the Florida public school system for 15 years.

Active in scholarly and creative endeavors, Dr. Rand has presented numerous workshops to music educators. She has presented her research “Balancing Artistry and Education” throughout the United States and in Austria, Singapore, Columbia, Ecuador, and Panama City, Panama. She has conducted numerous honor bands and All-State ensembles through out the US and abroad. She is published in volume 5 of “A Composer’s Insight: Thoughts, Analysis and Commentary on Contemporary Masterpieces for Wind Band,” and in volumes 7 and 12 of Teaching Music Through Performance in Band Series, distributed by GIA Publications.

Dr. Rand has served as assistant producer for several commercial recordings by the NAXOS record label. Her first compact disc with the University of Southern Mississippi’s Wind Ensemble entitled ALCHEMIZE was released December 2017 on the NAXOS label. She will release her second compact disc in 2023-24.

Ensembles under her direction have been selected to perform at such prestigious events as the 2018 CBDNA Southern Regional Conference in Tampa, Florida, and the 2019 National Conference of College Band Directors National Association in Tempe, Arizona.

Dr. Rand is a strong advocate for new music. She has helped to commission new works for wind ensemble and chamber winds and premiered numerous works by contemporary composers. In 2017 she had the honor to have been chosen as a Conn-Selmer Educational Clinician.

She is the state representative for College Band Directors National Association, and Past President of the Women Band Directors International. Her other professional affiliations include: National Band Association, College Music Society, Mississippi Bandmasters Association, Florida Bandmasters Association, Kappa Kappa Psi and the Music Educators National Conference.

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