Dr. Andrea E. Brown is the Associate Director of Bands at the University of Maryland where she‬ conducts the University of Maryland Wind Ensemble, serves as the Director of Athletic Bands,‬ teaches conducting, and is the coordinator of the conducting division. Brown is formerly a member of‬ the conducting faculty at the University of Michigan where she served as the assistant director of‬ bands and was a faculty sponsor of a College of Engineering Multidisciplinary Design Project team‬ researching conducting pedagogy technology. She also served as the director of orchestra and‬ assistant director of bands at the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta. She is a frequent guest‬ conductor, clinician, and adjudicator in the US, Europe, and Asia.‬

‭While under her direction, the UMD Wind Ensemble has been selected to perform at the College‬ Band Directors National Association Eastern Division Conference, and has performed works by a‬ diverse range of composers. Brown and the ensemble have collaborated with soloists Master‬ Gunnery Sgt. Sam Barlow, Willie Clark, Robert DiLutis, Jennifer Piazza-Pick, and Amanda Staub. She‬ led a consortium commissioning Omar Thomas’s setting of‬‭ Shenandoah‬‭ and has participated in‬ commissions for works by Katahj Copley, Shiyung Li, Catherine Likhuta, Li Chan, and Harrison‬ Collins.‬

‭During her time at Maryland, the UMD “Mighty Sound of Maryland” Marching Band has collaborated in‬ halftime shows with local artists such as the Critical Condition Band (DC GoGo), Mawty Maw (rap‬ artist), Grace Chin (drum set), and the Maryland Steel Pan Collective. MSOM has also been a part of‬ joint performances with the Howard University “Showtime” Marching Band and the Penn State “Blue” Band, and has participated in special performances at The Kennedy Center (DC), the Heisman‬ Trophy Banquet (NY), and Bands of America Regionals (MD).‬

‭Brown has contributed to several books published by GIA Publications such as‬‭ Women in Wind Band‬ (Keeton-Howard & Wagner),‬‭ Rehearsing the Marching‬‭ Band‬‭ (Meyer), and has had several rehearsal‬ guides published in the popular series,‬‭ Teaching Music‬‭ Through Performance in Band‬‭ . She has‬ presented at the Midwest Clinic in Chicago, Oxford Conducting Institute, the Yamaha Bläserklasse in‬ Schlitz, Germany, the International Computer Music Conference in Ljubljana, Slovenia, the College‬ Music Society International Conference in Sydney, Australia, and multiple times at the College Band‬ Directors National Association National Conference. Brown completed a DMA in instrumental‬ conducting at UNC Greensboro where she was a student of John Locke and Kevin Geraldi. While at‬ UNCG, she was both guest conductor and principal horn on UNCG Wind Ensemble's‬‭ fireworks!‬‭ and‬ finish line!‬‭ CDs released on the Equilibrium label.‬

‭A proponent of inclusion and equity issues in the music profession, Brown is a frequent guest speaker‬ on these topics. Brown is the founder of “Women Rising to the Podium” - an online group of over 5000‬ members supporting and celebrating women band directors. She currently serves on the CBDNA‬ Diversity Committee and was a founding member of the Drum Corps International InStep Committee.‬

‭Additionally, she also served as the chair of the Sigma Alpha Iota Women’s Music Fraternity Graduate‬ Conducting Grant for eight years and is an advisor of the SAI chapter at the University of Maryland.‬

‭Brown previously served on the brass and conducting instructional staff of the DCI World Champion‬ Phantom Regiment (2004 – 2017). Other marching organizations she has instructed include the U.S.‬ Army All-American Marching Band and Carolina Crown. Brown has served as a music judge for Drum‬ Corps International since the 2022 season and has been a member of the John Philip Sousa‬ Foundation Sudler Shield Jury since 2021. Brown was also invited to be a director for the 2024 D-Day‬ 80th Anniversary Collegiate Mass Band and led the group in its performances in Normandy, France.‬

‭As a performer, Brown was a member of the‬‭ AA‬‭ Brass‬‭ Quintet, which won the International Brass‬ Quintet Competition hosted by Fred Mills at the University of Georgia. She performed with the horn‬ sections of the Boston Brass All Stars Big Band, North Carolina Symphony, Winston-Salem‬ Symphony, and the Brevard Music Center Orchestra. Brown has studied brass performance and‬ pedagogy with Abigail Pack, J.D. Shaw, Jack Masarie, Freddy Martin, Dottie Bennett, Randy‬ Kohlenberg, Richard Steffen, and Ed Bach.‬

‭Originally from Milan, Tennessee, she is a graduate of Austin Peay State University and earned a‬ master of music degree in horn performance and a master of music education degree with a cognate‬ in instrumental conducting from UNCG. Prior to her position at Georgia Tech, Brown was the assistant‬ director of bands at Austin Peay State University and taught public school in Milwaukee, Wisconsin,‬ and Dallas, Texas. She is a member of Phi Kappa Phi, Pi Kappa Lambda, and CBDNA. She was‬ awarded the Rose of Honor as a member of Sigma Alpha Iota Women's Music Fraternity and is an‬ honorary member of Kappa Kappa Psi and Tau Beta Sigma. Brown lives just outside of Washington,‬ D.C. in College Park, MD, and enjoys hiking and exploring all of the cultural and historical aspects of‬ living in the DMV region.‬

Dr. J. Ben Jones is Director of Bands and Assistant Professor of Music at Catawba College where he serves as conductor for the Wind Ensemble, director of the Marching Band and Pep Band, and administers the entire Catawba College bands program. Prior to this appointment he served as the Assistant Director of Bands at Elon University from 2020 to 2022 and as interim conductor of the Duke University Wind Symphony during the fall of 2021. 

Ben earned his Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Instrumental Conducting at the University of North Carolina Greensboro in 2021. While at UNCG, he served as the principal conductor of the University Band and was the co-conductor of the Symphonic Band during the 2018–19 school year. He was also a frequent guest conductor with the Wind Ensemble, Casella Sinfonietta, and served as an instructor in undergraduate instrumental conducting. 

Prior to his graduate studies Ben taught in the public school system of North Carolina as the Director of Bands at Ashbrook High School in Gastonia, where he oversaw marching and concert bands and collaborative efforts within the community. An advocate for music education and building leaders in school music programs, Ben has presented leadership training workshops, worked with young music educators, adjudicated, and served as a guest clinician for many band programs around the Carolinas. 

Ben is a native of Gastonia, NC, and holds a BME from the University of South Carolina and an MM in Instrumental Conducting from UNCG. He has studied with Dr. Kevin Geraldi, Dr. John Locke, and Dr. Jonathan Caldwell, and is a member of the National Association for Music Education, the North Carolina Music Educators Association, the College Band Directors National Association, and Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia.