UMEA awards U School of Music faculty, adjunct, and alums at 2024 conference
Superior Accomplishment Award Kandis Taylor
Kandis King Taylor began her career by earning a Bachelor's degree in Instrumental Music Education and a Master's degree in Percussion Performance from Brigham Young University. In 2023, she completed a Ph.D. in Music Education at the University of Utah. Her research interests focus on leveraging educational technology as a tool for music learning and has presented both nationally and internationally on these topics. Dr. Taylor is actively engaged in public school and higher education as she simultaneously holds the position of Percussion Instructor at Brigham Young University and Directors of Bands and Percussion Ensembles at Lakeridge Junior High in Utah. She has over 18-years of experience teaching, directing, and adjudicating junior high and high school concert bands, jazz bands, orchestras, choir, and percussion ensembles in California and Utah. When she isn't teaching college or public school, Dr. Taylor composes music and has several compositions published through C. Alan Publications. Kandis loves her little family and lives with her husband and daughter in Draper, Utah.
Outstanding Music Educator Todd Campbell
Todd Campbell is in his thirty-first year of teaching Band in the Davis County School District in Utah where he has taught Band both at the junior high and high school levels. Mr. Campbell is in his fourteenth year at Woods Cross High School. Prior to teaching at Woods Cross High Todd taught at South Davis Junior High for nine years where he replaced his father Robert Campbell who taught Band there for thirty years. He swore as a teenager that he would never do what his father did for a living but now would have it no other way. Todd is an alumni of both SDJH and WXHS. He began his career at Mueller Park Junior High and taught Band and Algebra for eight years. Todd is known among his students for passing on a love of music but his students seem to remember even more the many life-lessons that are learned through practicing, rehearsing, performing music and listening to his stories and analogies. Todd says, "being successful in Band is a model for being successful in life. You have to work hard and be prepared individually, work with people, be a good listener, be a good follower and leader, sacrifice for the common good, and to be committed to and dedicated to a standard and to other people." Todd directs the Wind Ensemble, Symphonic Band, Jazz Ensemble, Percussion Ensemble and Party Band as well as teaches AP Music Theory. Woods Cross High's ensembles are well known for being some of the best in Utah, consistently receiving Superior Ratings at Region, State, and other festivals throughout the Western United States. Further, many Woods Cross Band students are consistently involved each year in the Utah All-State Band, Jazz Band and other honor ensembles. Todd also co-directs the Davis County Jazz Messengers with Mr. Chad King. He also is an adjunct faculty member at both Brigham Young University and the University of Utah directing the Jazz Lab Band and private Jazz Trumpet lessons respectively. Todd is also an active adjudicator, clinician, and presenter. Todd has had many student teachers throughout the years. He is proud of them and thrilled that they are passing on to another generation of students the joy and power of music. Todd holds both a Bachelor and Master degrees in Music Education from the University of Utah. Mr.Campbell has been actively involved in the Utah Music Educators Association for over thirty years. Todd has served on the UMEA board in the following positions- President, President Elect, Past President, Jazz Vice President, Jazz Committee member, Junior High Vice President, Awards Chairman, President of the Collegiate Chapter of the Music Educators National Conference (former name of NAtME--National Association for Music Education). He has also been involved with several Utah State Office of Education projects, and the Trade Secrets Workshop. He holds membership in the NBA (National Band Association), PAS (Percussive Arts Society), JEN (Jazz Education Network). Todd is the recipient of Utah's Sorenson Legacy Award in 2020 and is a current nominee for "Best in Davis" award in the Davis County School District. He has been a Davis District Hall of Fame teacher two times and has also received Davis District's Excel award. Todd is a six time recipient of the "Citation of Excellence" Award and four time recipient of the "Outstanding Jazz Educator" from the National Band Association. Since 2013 Todd has been on the Utah Ambassadors of Music stafftraveling and conducting throughout Europe. Todd has also been on the staff of the Heritage "Festivals of Gold" series since 1999, helping to produce festivals in Chicago, Boston, Nashville, San Francisco and Los Angeles. Todd's main instruments are trumpet, percussion (drums) and guitar but he likes to mess around on any instrument that is put in front of him. Todd occasionally finds time to perform in both the classical and jazz world. He credits any success that he has had to all his teachers and mentors over the years. Especially his high school Band Director, Stephen Richins, as well as his parents-- both at home and at SDJH where he sat in their classes. Some of his hobbies and interests are: pickleball, photography, home improvement, playing guitar, yard work, tuning and maintaining pianos, church service and anything that his kids are involved with. Todd's wife Natalie has been an active choir accompanist on both organ and piano for the Utah Voices Choir, and Salt Lake Symphonic Choir. She also teaches a full piano studio of approximately thirty students, teaches "Lets Play Music" classes and also teaches piano at Snow College. They have five children who are all involved in music.
Hall of Fame Inductee Mark Ely
Mark Ely grew up on a small farm in rural Ohio. He was raised in a musical family and began playing the saxophone at age nine. By age I 0, he and his two older brothers (12 and 13) performed as a trio (sax, piano, & drums) and entertained numerous organizations throughout southern Ohio. Throughout junior high and high school, he sang in the choir, played in the concert band, jazz/stage band, and marching band, and performed in many All-State/ All-Ohio/Regional honors bands. After graduating Valedictorian of Southeastern High School in 1976, he attended The Ohio State University where he studied with Dr. Burdette Green and James Hill. He graduated cum laude with a Bachelor of Music Education degree in 1980. Following graduation, he studied saxophone performance with Trent Kynaston at Western Michigan University where he received his Master ofMusic degree and a minor in Music History. During his time at WMU, he taught applied saxophone, saxophone methods and non-Western music courses. From I 982-1985, he was Director of Bands in the Ross County Public School System in Ohio where he taught elementary, junior high, and senior high instrumental music. He returned to OSU in 1985 and completed his Ph.D. in Music Education degree in 1988 while also emphasizing saxophone performance and music perception and cognition. For the past 34 years, he has been teaching undergraduate and graduate courses in music education and saxophone performance at The University of Utah. He is an active performer, clinician, and adjudicator and has performed as a soloist and with a variety of ensembles at state, regional, and national conferences including: National Music Educators Association Conference (MENC); College Band Director's National Association Conference (CBDNA); Music Educators National Conference (MENC); World Saxophone Congress; North American Saxophone Alliance (NASA); Utah Music Educators Association (UMEA) Professional Development Conference, and the Society for ElectroAcoustic Music in the United States (SEAMUS) Conference. He presents regularly at music education conferences and has published articles in the Journal of Research in Music Education, Music Educators Journal, Utah Music Educators Journal, School Music News, and The Instrumentalist. His Dictionary of Music Education: A Handbook of Terminology co-authored with Amy E. Van Deuren, Esq. is published by GIA Publications, and his two-volume book set that focuses on wind instrument pedagogy entitled Wind Talk: A Practical Guide to Understanding and Teaching Woodwind Instruments and Wind Talk: A Practical Guide to Understanding and Teaching Brass Instruments is published by Oxford University Press. Forthcoming publications include a dictionary of terminology used in saxophone literature containing over 2,600 terms/phrases and a reference guide to select saxophone literature with program notes for over 250 pieces. Dr. Ely has held offices at the state and national levels as well, including: the Utah Higher Education Research Chair, the Utah State CMENC Chair, and the Western Division Chair of Collegiate Music Educators National Conference (CMENC). Dr. Ely received the Outstanding Music Educator Award in Music Education from the Utah Music Educators Association (UMEA) in 2008 and a Superior Accomplishment Award in Music Education from the Utah Music Educators Association (UMEA) in 2003-2004 and 2019-2020. While publications, awards, and personal achievements are important in the professional world, they pale in comparison to the successes his former students enjoy every day and the positive impact they have had and continue to have on the lives of young musicians. The most important measures of success, those that truly define one's career, occur seamlessly over time without pomp and fanfare. They take place during the course of instruction and through the many processes involved in teaching, learning, and creating music. He is most grateful for having had the opportunity to work with so many talented musicians through the years and is most proud of them and their accomplishments. His message on how to be a great teacher is simple: Don't do any damage out there, and PRACTICE!