Band
Dr. Alexander Gonzalez
Dr. Alexander Gonzalez is the Director of Bands at the Southern Oregon University.
Prior to his appointment at Southern Oregon, Alexander previously directed bands at UW-Madison, taught conducting at Capital University Conservatory of Music (OH), served as Music Director of the Professional School Orchestra (OH), served as the director of the Middleton Symphony Orchestra’s Wind Octet (WI), taught music history at Hillsborough Community College (FL), and was a public-school educator in Florida and Colorado where he taught an array of courses at the middle and high school levels.
His current research centers around the body of works commissioned by Robert Boudreau for the American Wind Symphony Orchestra. In partnership with Editions Peters, Alexander has created a critical edition of Eugène Bozza’s Children’s Overture and will create forthcoming editions of other works in this unique catalogue.
Dr. Gonzalez received a Doctor of Musical Arts in Conducting from The Ohio State University, where he studied with Dr. Russel Mikkelson. He holds a Bachelor of Music degree in Music Education from the University of Florida and a Masters in Wind Conducting from the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Additionally, Alexander is an active member in the National Association for Music Education, the College Band Directors National Association, the National Band Association, the National Association for Music Education, Phi Mu Alpha, Kappa Kappa Psi, and Tau Beta Sigma.
Choir
Ashley Dame
Mrs. Ashley Dame is passionate about teaching from the heart. Mrs. Dame holds a Bachelor of Arts in Music Education from Mississippi College and a Master of Arts in Music Education from Texas Woman’s University. She currently serves as co-director of choirs at Wylie East High School, where she conducts the Varsity Treble Choir, Bella Voce Advanced Treble Choir, Select Treble Choir, and co-directs the other eight ensembles in the choral program.
Mrs. Dame is a frequent presenter at state and national choral conferences including NAfME, TCDA, TMEA, SWACDA, and the National MS/JH ACDA Conference. Ensembles under her direction have been featured in performance at TMEA, SWACDA, and the National MS/JH ACDA conferences. She has received numerous awards for teaching, including the Texas Choral Directors Association (TCDA) Innovative Programming Award, Wylie East High School Teacher of the Year, and the TCDA Young Director of Distinction. She is in high demand as a clinician-conductor, having served as an all-region and all-state honor choir conductor throughout Texas and in Arkansas, Alabama, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Tennessee, and Wisconsin.
Mrs. Dame’s additional professional experiences include performing arts marketing and event coordination for both the Dallas Symphony Association and the Dallas Center for the Performing Arts. This lifelong involvement in arts advocacy has fueled her enthusiasm for choral music education and has propelled her to dedicate her life to music education-based research and supporting educational programs in collaboration with the performing arts community. In serving the choral community, her publications for adolescent male choristers are published through BriLee Music and she offers free choral resource videos online through her Youtube channel, InspireChoir.
Orchestra
Dr. Mark Laycock
Dr. Mark Laycock is a Professor of Music at Wichita State University, where he holds the Ann Walenta Faculty of Distinction Endowed Professorship. He has been recognized with the WSU Excellence in Creative Activity Award and the College of Fine Arts Excellence in Teaching Award. He serves as Director of Orchestras and Coordinator of Strings. WSU Symphony Orchestra appearances under his direction include international tours to Spain and Canada, a concert at Carnegie Hall, and multiple invited performances at Kansas Music Educators Association In-Service Workshops. Dr. Laycock is a member of the Board of Directors of the Midwest International Band and Orchestra Clinic; he serves as Chair of Orchestra Activities. He is Conductor of the Wichita Youth Symphony and Director of the Wichita Youth Orchestras Program.
His work as guest conductor, clinician, or adjudicator spans 35 states. Recent and upcoming appearances include the Bangkok International String Festival, the Texas Conducting Workshop, the all-state orchestras of California, Nevada, and Wyoming, educational sessions at the Conn-Selmer Institute and The Ohio State University String Teacher Workshop, adjudication in Arizona, California, Colorado, and Indiana, and honor ensembles in Minnesota, Oregon, Texas, and Virginia. Dr. Laycock served the National Orchestra Festival as adjudicator, clinician, and, in 2018 and 2019, chair of the event. His appearances with professional ensembles include the Wichita Symphony Orchestra, Wichita Grand Opera, and Opera Kansas, as well as orchestras in Slovakia and Canada. Dr. Laycock has presented clinic sessions for numerous state education conventions, as well as the American String Teachers Association National Conference, the Northwest and Northeast Division Conventions of the National Association for Music Education, and the Midwest Clinic. A frequent visitor to Australia, he gave professional development sessions for instrumental music educators in Brisbane, was a conductor for the Queensland State Honours Ensemble Program, was a Chief Adjudicator for the Victorian School Music Festival in Melbourne, served as a Keynote Presenter for the Australian Strings Association 2018 National Conference in Perth, and was a Keynote Speaker for the 2021 Australian National Band and Orchestra Conference. Dr. Laycock is a five-time invited music education panelist for the National Endowment for the Arts, evaluating grant applications from institutions throughout the country. He is a chapter author for the fourth volume of Teaching Music through Performance in Orchestra and a frequent contributor to the American String Teacher journal.
Dr. Laycock served as Director of Orchestras and Instrumental Music at Chapman University in Orange, California, where he led invited performances for the California Music Educators Association and at Disneyland. He was also Principal Conductor of the Irvine (CA) Classical Players, leading the youth orchestra on concert tours to Italy (2006) and France (2008). Previously, Dr. Laycock was Director of Orchestral Activities at Iowa State University and Music Director of the Central Iowa Symphony. Under his leadership, the ISU Symphony Orchestra performed at the North Central Division Convention of the Music Educators National Association and collaborated with such artists as bass-baritone Simon Estes and pianist-composer Marvin Hamlisch. He began his career as an instructor of strings and orchestra at the middle and high school levels in the Clark County School District in Las Vegas, Nevada. He earned a Doctor of Arts degree in orchestral conducting from the University of Northern Colorado. Dr. Laycock holds a Master of Music degree in instrumental conducting from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and a Bachelor of Arts degree in music history and literature from the University of Southern California.
