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Candidate Kyle Prescott

Kyle Prescott photograph

Florida Atlantic University
Director of Bands

Biographical Statement

It has been a privilege and honor to serve the College Band Directors National Association for more than two decades. The  Florida Atlantic University (FAU) Wind Ensemble was selected to perform at the 2008 Southern Division Conference of CBDNA in Columbus, Georgia, the 2016 conference in Charleston, South Carolina, and 2020 conference Natchitoches, Louisiana. I also guest conducted at the 2018 Division Conference in Tampa, Florida.

From 2009 to 2018 I was appointed to serve as state chair of Florida by four consecutive Southern Division Presidents. Florida CBDNA’s primary task is managing the Intercollegiate Band (ICB). This 84-piece group of college musicians from across the state performs at the Florida Music Education Association’s (FMEA) annual conference. The administrative challenges of an annual ICB were daunting and fell largely on me as Florida chair. I was reappointed by three subsequent Southern Division Presidents. In addition to four terms ending in 2016, I completed my successors term after an unanticipated departure. During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021 I again stepped in to organize and execute CBDNA-sponsored panels and presentations for the fully virtual Florida All-State Bands. During my tenure as state chair, I shifted the ICB from biennial to annual, was able to contract the leading guest conductors of our profession and fostered meaningful experiences for over five hundred Intercollegiate Band students whose performances brought positive attention to CBDNA in Florida. As chair I facilitated a collaborative environment with the Florida Bandmasters Association and FMEA Leadership, and with CBDNA members across our state.

In addition to my three division conference performances and eleven-plus years as state chair, I presented research on band musicians in cryptology at the National Conference in Kansas City and served on the CBDNA Music Education Committee from 2019 to 2023. I also served on an anonymous panel to evaluate CBDNA conference performance applications.

  • 2008 Florida Atlantic University Wind Ensemble performance at Southern Division Conference of CBDNA, Columbus, GA
  • 2009 Appointed CBDNA State Chair for Florida by Southern Division President Les Hicken
  • 2010 Managed the Florida Intercollegiate Band, conducted by H. Robert Reynolds
  • 2010 Reappointed Florida Chair by Southern Division President Patrick Dunnigan
  • 2012 Managed the Florida Intercollegiate Band, conducted by Donald Hunsberger
  • 2012 Reappointed Florida Chair by Southern Division President Richard Clary
  • 2013 Managed the Florida Intercollegiate Band, conducted by Michael Haithcock
  • 2014 Managed the Florida Intercollegiate Band, conducted by Eric Rombach-Kendall
  • 2014 Reappointed Florida Chair by Southern Division President Mark Spede
  • 2015 Managed the Florida Intercollegiate Band, conducted by Kevin Sedatole
  • 2016 Florida Atlantic University Wind Ensemble performance at Southern Division Conference of CBDNA, Charleston, SC
  • 2016 End of continuous service as Florida CBDNA Chair
  • 2017 succeeding Florida Chair separated from the state; appointed to complete term
  • 2017 Research presentation at National CBDNA Conference in Kansas City, MO
  • 2018 Managed the Florida Intercollegiate Band, conducted by Steven Peterson
  • 2018 Guest conducted Dreyfoos School of the Arts Wind Ensemble at Southern Division Conference of CBDNA, Tampa, FL
  • 2018 End of formal term as Florida State Chair, nine out of eleven years
  • 2019 Appointed by President Mark Spede to the CBDNA Music Education Committee, Rebecca Phillips, Chair
  • 2020 Florida Atlantic University Wind Ensemble performance at Southern Division Conference of CBDNA, Natchitoches, LA
  • 2021 Following interruption of duties from succeeding state chair, organized and moderated CBDNA panel discussions for all Florida All-State Bands, meeting virtually due to COVID-19.
  • 2022 Conducted business meeting of Florida CBDNA in absence of chair.
  • 2023 End of service on CBDNA Music Education Committee

CBDNA Southern Division Vision Statement

The College Band Directors National Association serves our profession well, maintaining high standards of artistic excellence and innovation, and providing a place for its members to connect and succeed. CBDNA will continue to flourish through listening to its membership, collaborating with others, and facilitating a future for wind band artistry.

The Southern Division’s biennial conference is a place for camaraderie and the sharing of solutions and successes. Our division is poised to lead the association in using the tools which matured so quickly during the pandemic. CBDNA has been preparing for significant on-line collaboration for many years, and technology is finally catching up to that dream. I see a regular virtual ‘division hang’ where directors meet and share ideas and issues. How do you retain quality adjunct teachers in a small school? What are the best practices for storing uniforms? These are topics that may never be addressed at a conference, but our community of professionals could provide answers to these and more in a regular virtual venue.

A strength of the Southern Division is our collaboration with the National Band Association (NBA). While I served on the CBDNA Music Education Committee we connected with education-centered organizations working to accomplish many of the same goals as CBDNA, and we should continue to expand our network of organizations with shared interests as artists, leaders, and educators. Where our interests overlap, we might share committee members between organizations. Imagine hearing from a music audiologist about mitigating hearing damage, or being asked to share with a group of audiologists what a marching percussion battery sounds like. We should strengthen our connections with established agencies such as the Society for Music Teacher Education, Americans for the Arts, the Jazz Education Network, ASCAP, the Conductors Guild, or with groups sharing our imperatives of diversity and inclusion in the arts. We are stronger when connected.

I would like to explore ways to increase the number of enthusiastic undergraduates at our division conference. Let us also bring accomplished secondary school teachers to our conference not only to perform, but to engage with us about what is needed or missing from our music education graduates. We can rediscover our role in supporting expert teachers in the secondary schools, helping when we can and listening to their experience.

I believe CBDNA’s best days are ahead of us. Anchored by our tradition of artistry and standing on the shoulders of giants, the way forward is exciting, compelling, and inspiring. I look forward to playing my part.