Brady Rohlfs
Waverly High School
PO Box 426
Waverly, NE 68462

Bus 402.786.2765
Res 402.781.9335
Fax 402.786.2760
brohlfs@esu6.org

 

 

Carolyn Barber
UNL
236 Wesstbrook Music Bldg.
Lincoln, NE 68506

Bus 402.472.2505
Res 402.327.8931
Fax 402.474.2326
cbarber2@unl.edu

 

Carolyn A. Barber (associate professor/director of bands, University of Nebraska – Lincoln School of Music) earned a B.M. in horn performance at Northwestern University, an M.M. in horn performance from Yale University, and returned to Northwestern to earn her D.M. in conducting as a student of John P. Paynter and Victor Yampolsky.

Dr. Barber began her career as a lecturer and assistant to the dean of the Northwestern University School of Music. Prior to her appointment at UNL, Dr. Barber also served as the director of bands at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse. Apart from her conducting and teaching at UW-L, Dr. Barber also served for five years as the principal horn of the La Crosse Symphony Orchestra.

Dr. Barber has received numerous awards for musical and academic achievement, including the Hixson-Lied College of Fine and Performing Arts Distinguished Teaching Award. She has published in the Journal of Band Research, and the Teaching Music Through Performance in Band reference series and has presented at venues including the Midwest Clinic, as well as CBDNA, ASTA and MENC conferences.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ron Hardin
Bellevue East High School
1401 HS Drive
Bellevue, NE 68005

Bus 402.293.4174
Res 402.682.5688
ronhardin@aol.com

Ron Hardin is currently the Director of Bands at Bellevue East High School. Ron took this position in 2000, and has led the Chieftains to many successful performances in all areas, including Concert Band, Wind Ensemble, Jazz Bands, Indoor and Concert Percussion, Chamber Ensembles and Indoor Color Guard. Under his watch, the band programs have performed in ten different states.

Ron also has an extensive history as a professional music educator and performer. He was the founder and past conductor of the Diablo Wind Symphony, and was the Director of Bands at Clayton Valley High School in Concord, CA for six years where served as President of the Contra Costa County Band Director’s Association and Vice-President and Contest Coordinator of the Western Band Association. Ron has performed professionally with the Diablo Valley Jazz Orchestra and the Nebraska Jazz Orchestra. Currently, Ron serves as the Nebraska State Bandmasters Association Marching Band Chair. In addition, he is a recipient of the Jack R. Snyder Young Band Director’s Award.

Ron’s experience in the drum corps activity is extensive, spanning over twenty years. As a performer, he spent the 1991 and 1992 seasons with the Star of Indiana. Upon the completion of his performing career, Ron joined the Blue Devils as a member of their visual staff for eight seasons and later spent five years as the Visual Caption Head of the Santa Clara Vanguard. Currently Ron serves as the Visual Caption Head of the Canton Bluecoats. In addition to instructing, Ron has designed visual programs for Yamato, Pride of the Lions, Magic of Orlando and Minnesota Brass. He has also served as Visual Coordinator for the Blue Stars. Ron is currently an instructor representative on the DCI Instructors’ Task Force.

As a designer, Ron Hardin is very active and closely connected with the pageantry activity. Ron has designed hundreds of shows for bands, drum lines, winter guards and drum corps. Annually, he designs for a select amount of groups around the country. Ron is in demand as a clinician and adjudicator throughout the world, having done many clinics throughout the United States, Europe and Japan. In 2009 he launched www.ronhardin.com to better communicate with his clients.

Since 1999, Ron has served as a visual judge for Winter Guard International, annually adjudicating for many circuits, regionals and world championships. Ron has performed judging clinics for NMEA, NSBA, WGI, several indoor percussion circuits and the Judging Association of Mid America. His designs have appeared in several BOA regional finals. As an instructor, Ron has been a part of teams earning five DCI World Championships and several High Visual Awards.

In addition to his numerous responsibilities, Ron sees himself first as a family man. His greatest pride and joy is his family: his wife Molly, and their daughters Emma and Celeste.

 

 

 

Dan Sodomka
Aurora High School
300 L Street
Aurora, NE 68818

Bus 402.694.6966
Res 402.384.5671
dsodomka@esu9.org

 

 

Chiyo Kamada
Otte-Blair Middle School
555 Jackson Street
P.O. Box 288
Blair, NE 68008

Bus: 402.427.2856
Res: 402.658.9135
Fax: 402.426.1788
chiyo.kamada@blairschools.org

Chiyo Kamada, a native of Chiba, Japan, is in her third year as the Seventh and Eighth Grade Band Director at Otte-Blair Middle School in Blair, Nebraska. Under Kamada's direction, both seventh and eighth grade bands have consistently received superior ratings at contests. She is the coordinator of the annual Blair Middle School Honor Band Festival.

She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English and a Master of Arts degree in History from Tokyo University of Foreign Studies. She has completed the music teaching certification program at the University of Nebraska at Kearney. Currently she is enrolled in the American Band College program at Sam Houston State University. In 2002, she embraced the experience as a volunteer for a year at Beatrice State Developmental Center in the special education classrooms. Her teaching background includes teaching English at Gauss Private School in Tokyo, teaching Japanese courses at UNK, and teaching elementary general music in Holdrege, Nebraska. She currently teaches music at Omaha Japanese School on the weekends.

She is actively involved in music, playing the flute and piccolo in numerous organizations such as Blair Area Community Band, Civil War Band in Fremont, Nebraska Wind Symphony in Omaha, Omaha Symphonic Winds, and Orchestra Omaha.

David Bohnert
Wayne State College
111 Main St
Wayne, NE 68787
School: 402.375.7363
Home: 402.375.2031
dabohne1@wsc.edu

David Bohnert is an Associate Professor of Music and Director of Bands at Wayne State College where he teaches conducting, music education, applied trumpet, and brass methods, as well as serving as director for the WSC Wind Ensemble and Marching Band. He holds the Bachelor of Music (Trumpet Performance) and Bachelor of Music Education degrees from Southeast Missouri State University. He earned the Master of Music degree in Trumpet Performance from the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music, where he also served as a graduate teaching assistant with the University Bands. He has done post-graduate study at the Eastman School of Music and the University of Missouri-Kansas City Conservatory of Music, where he completed the DMA (Trumpet Performance).
Bohnert is in demand as a clinician and guest conductor for ensembles in the Midwest and is a popular adjudicator at music competitions throughout the United States. Recent conducting engagements include the Northwest Iowa Bandmasters Honor Band, Nebraska Class C All-State Band, Nebraska Class C All-State Jazz Band, and the Masonic All-Star Marching Band. He has presented clinics at numerous High Schools and Universities as well as the Nebraska State Bandmasters and Nebraska Music Educators Conventions.
An active performer, Bohnert plays regularly with A Touch of Brass, the Sioux City Symphony Orchestra and Municipal Band, in addition to maintaining an active solo recital schedule. He has recently performed at the International Trumpet Guild convention and the American Guild of Organists conference and is on the recording reviewing staff for the journal of the International Trumpet Guild.
David was selected for the 2009 State National Bank Teaching Excellence Award at Wayne State College. He resides in Wayne with his wife Melissa and their two sons, Ethan and Aidan.