Summer Conference Info — Utah Bandmasters Association

Why Would Educators Want To Attend the Conference?

Learn the best practices in teaching band from Col. Don Schofield of the United States Air Force Band, Joel Denton (37 yr veteran teacher and master educator), Bobby Lambert of Wando High School, and Aaron Gant of Pearland High School.

Brush up on Flute Essentials for Directors with McKayla Wolf, Snare Drum Pedagogy with Nick Jackson, Ensemble Techniques with Paul Lemen, and Rhythm Section and Jazz Bass strategies with Philip Kuehn..

2026 Summer Conference Schedule

Wednesday, June 17, 2026 - American Fork High School

7:30 am: Conference Check-In Begins

8:00 am: Col. Don Schofield

9:30 am: McKayla Wolf, "Flute Foundations: Building Confident Players at Every Level"

11:00 am: Philip Kuehn, "Rhythm Section Basics"

12:15 pm: Lunch

1:30 pm: Bobby Lambert

2:45 pm: Paul Lemen, "No Cap, Do you feel your band is Mid? How to Turn It Into W Band Energy"

Thursday, June 18, 2026 - American Fork High School

8:00 am: Joel Denton

9:30 am: Nick Jackson, "Smile! UR Drumming"

11:00 am: Philip Kuehn, Jazz Bass Fundamentals

12:15 pm: Lunch

1:00 pm: Aaron Gant

2:00 pm: General Discussion: Handling Burnout

3:00 pm: Student Showcase

Session Information

“No Cap, Do you feel your band is Mid? How to Turn It Into W Band Energy”

We all know when we hear a great band. How do they do it? What are the secret tricks they use to make their bands sound like that? How do you organize your program? What do your rehearsals look like. This session will present 31 years worth of ideas on how to make your band sound great...pretty much all stolen from other colleagues!

Paul Lemen, 6/17 2:45pm

“Flute Foundations: Building Confident Players at Every Level”

Set your flutes up for success from the very beginning with practical, easy-to-implement teaching strategies. Topics include beginner foundations, diagnosing common problems, and maintaining consistent growth through junior high and high school. We’ll also touch on developing confident piccolo players.

McKayla Wolf, 6/17, 9:30am

“Smile! UR Drumming” (title credit: Dr. Mike Sammons)

Join percussion educator and United States Army Snare Drummer, Nick Jackson, in making the art of drumming fun and engaging with your percussion students. Highlights from the session include exciting ways to present snare drum techniques, including:

Softballs
Tennis balls
Airplane wings
Oreo cookies
T-rex's and Zombies
Iron Man laser hands
Cans of Coke
Costco Pizza! (my favorite)
Plus Q&A with a full-time percussion educator

Credit for many of these ideas come from the beginning percussion teacher in the Coppell ISD cluster, Danny Hawkins, as well as the method book- Player's Guide for the Beginning Percussionist by Team Islas. I developed and tested these methods and how to present them to 6th grade percussion classes in the Maple Mountain cluster in Nebo School District. Bring your sticks and drum pads and get ready to Smile and Drum!

Nick Jackson, 6/18 9:30am