Band Director Workshop

Dr. Stacey Larson Dolan is the Chief Academic Officer, Undergraduate Dean and Associate Director of Bands at VanderCook College of Music.  Dr. Dolan advises and teaches students through a variety of music educa­tion and conducting courses, as well as bands at both the undergraduate and graduate level.  Prior to 2004 and her appointment at VanderCook, Dr. Dolan taught at the middle school and high school level in both private and public education.  She was on the design and teaching staff of the National Champion Lake Park Marching Band for twelve years and was the creative director and conductor of the Bensenville Young Musicians Mentor Band from 1995-2007.

Originally from Itasca, IL, Dr. Dolan has been a guest conductor, presenter and clinician for hundreds of bands from the United States, Europe, Canada and China. Honor band conducting experiences include the Tianjin International School in Tianjin, China, the Tri-State Honor Band in Morehead, KY, the Music For All Summer Symposium, ILMEA, PMEA, OMEA, and many guest conducting and adjudication experiences throughout the U.S.  She was the recipient of the IGSMA Barbara Buehlman Young Conductor Award and the Chicagoland Outstanding Music Educator Award, has received the Citation of Excellence from the National Band Association, and the Distinguished Alumni Award from both Itasca School District #10 and VanderCook Col­lege of Music.  Dr. Dolan has been published in The Instrumentalist and her professional affilia­tions include Phi Beta Mu, NAfME, Vice President of AIMS, NBA, and CBDNA.  Dr. Dolan earned her Bachelor of Music Education degree from Millikin University and Master of Music Education degree from VanderCook College of Music.  She earned an EdD from the University of Northern Colorado with a minor in applied statistics and research methods.  Her research areas of inter­est include music teacher education, Care theory, teacher assessment, and teacher resilience.

To learn more about Dean Dolan’s journey in music education:

Stacey Larson Dolan on Women in Education

Stacey Larson Dolan speaks on her career journey from starting the flute in fifth grade to higher education.

Stacey Larson Dolan speaks on the basics of running a music classroom.

Stacey Larson Dolan speaks on how she works to achieve balance in her life.

Alexander Kaminsky was appointed Director of Bands and Associate Professor of Music at VanderCook College of Music in 2019 after a highly successful tenure at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, FL.  Previous to that, Kaminsky led the band programs at Buchholz High School, Lincoln High School, Auburndale High School, and Cocoa Beach Jr/Sr High School, all of which excelled under his direction.  He holds degrees from the University of Florida and Indiana University, is active as an adjudicator, and is in demand as a guest conductor/clinician across the country.

Throughout his 30-year career as a high school band director, Kaminsky’s ensembles consistently earned Superior ratings at all levels of evaluation.  In addition to earning straight Superior ratings at the Florida Bandmasters Association (FBA) State Concert Band Assessment for an unprecedented 21 years (the last 11 years with both his first and second bands), he is the only director in the history of the FBA to have had three concert bands from one school earn straight Superior ratings at State, and he achieved this three times (2009, 2018, and 2019).

Kaminsky’s high school bands performed at the Midwest Clinic (2005, 2009, 2014, and 2018), ABA National Convention (2014), CBDNA/NBA Southern Division Conference (2004 and 2014), FMEA State Conference (2014), Music for All National Concert Band Festival (2002 and 2012), and the National Wind Band Festival at Carnegie Hall (2009 and 2018).  In 2018, the Stoneman Douglas Wind Symphony was named a Mark of Excellence National Wind Band Honors winner as one of only ten 6A bands in the nation.  His marching bands consistently placed in the Florida Marching Band State Championship Finals, winning several FMBC State Championships (including 4 of his last 6 years as a high school band director), as well as being named a finalist band at BOA regional competitions.

Kaminsky has presented his clinic “How Can I Get My Band to Sound Like That” at various conferences and workshops, and his hands-on rehearsal demonstrations for the annual “How To Fix It” series at the FMEA Professional Development Conference received high acclaim with over 900 attendees in 2019.  He has been awarded the National Band Association’s Citation of Excellence numerous times and has been recognized with several achievement awards for education including Florida’s 2019 FMEA Secondary Music Educator of the Year Award, FBA Oliver Hobbs Award, FBA Andrew J. Crew Award, National Honor Roll’s Outstanding American Teacher, Nobel Educator of Distinction, Teacher of the Year, and is listed in Who’s Who Among America’s Teachers.

Kaminsky is a Conn-Selmer Educational Clinician, an elected member of the prestigious American Bandmasters Association and the American School Band Directors’ Association, and also holds memberships in CBDNA, NBA, and Phi Beta Mu.  He has served on many state and national committees, currently serving on the ABA Sousa/Ostwald Award Committee and the ABA School Bands Task Force, and is the NBA National Student Chapters Advisor.  Kaminsky is a National Board Certified Teacher and has been featured in several publications including The Instrumentalist, Teaching Music, Halftime Magazine, School Band & Orchestra Magazine’s “50 Directors Who Make A Difference,” Home Magazine’s “12 Exceptional Educators,” and most recently, Inspiring a Love of Music published by GIA Publications.