Mason Wind Conducting Symposium

Dr. William L. Lake, Jr. is the newly appointed Director of Concert Bands at the Reva and Sid Dewberry Family School of Music at George Mason University for the upcoming academic year. In this role, he will conduct the George Mason University Wind Symphony and Symphonic Band. He will also teach conducting and wind literature classes.

Before his tenure at George Mason University, Dr. William L. Lake, Jr., served as Associate Director of Bands and Assistant Professor of Music Education at the Crane School of Music (SUNY-Potsdam), where he was co-conductor of the Northern Symphonic Winds, principal conductor of the Crane Concert Band, and guest conductor of the Crane Wind Ensemble. In addition to these responsibilities, Dr. Lake taught undergraduate conducting, Secondary Wind Practices, Wind Literature, and the preservice Practicum in Beginning Instruments Course.

Dr. Lake earned his Doctor of Musical Arts Degree in Instrumental Conducting from The University of North Carolina at Greensboro under the mentorship of Drs. John R. Locke and Kevin Geraldi. As a graduate student, he was the principal conductor of The University of North Carolina University Band and guest conductor of the Wind Ensemble, Symphonic Band, Casella Sinfonietta Chamber Ensemble, and Symphony Orchestra.

Dr. Lake is the recipient of two master’s degrees, the first from Boston University in Music Education (2011) and the second from the University of Maryland, College Park in Wind Conducting (2014) under the mentorship of Dr. Michael Votta, Jr. In May 2006, Dr. Lake received the Bachelor of Music Liberal Arts -Jazz Studies Piano Performance Degree from the University of Maryland, College Park as a student of Jon Ozment and Christopher Vadala.

Dr. Lake maintains an active performance and clinic schedule as a guest conductor and lecturer throughout the country. He was a finalist for the 2017-2018 Ernst Bacon Memorial Award for the Performance of American Music and the Band Conducting Division of the American Prize.

Recently, Dr. Lake served as a collaborating author for two books, Teaching Instrumental Music: Perspectives and Pedagogies for the 21st Century (Oxford University Press) and Music Education on the Verge: Stories of Pandemic Teaching and Transformative Change (Lexington Books), both to be published in 2022.

As a passionate advocate for diversity, equity, and inclusion, Dr. Lake is the co-founder of I See You: Affirming Representation in Music. In this capacity, Dr. Lake has presented over twenty seminars across the United States on inclusive practices in music education and performance.

With co-founder Dr. LaToya A. Webb, Dr. Lake has been invited to present on diversity, equity, and inclusion concepts and practices at the 2021 Midwest International Band and Orchestra Clinic, the 2021 Virginia Music Educators Association Professional Development Conference, the 2022 Texas Music Educators Association Conference, the 2021 National Association for Music Education National Conference and the 2022 National Association for Music Education Music Leaders Forum.

Dr. Lake is a member of the College Band Directors National Association, Kappa Kappa Psi, National Honorary Band Fraternity, Inc., Pi Kappa Lambda, and Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. He is also honored with membership in Tau Beta Sigma National Honorary Band Fraternity, Inc., and Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia.

Dr. T. André Feagin serves as Director of Bands and Associate Professor in the Department of Music at Central Washington University where he guides the educational and artistic vision of a comprehensive band program. He heads the graduate wind band conducting program and serves as the conductor of the Symphonic Band and Wind Ensemble, the preeminent wind band at CWU. Under his leadership, the Wind Ensemble was a featured performer at the 2022 College Band Directors National Association (CBDNA) Western/Northwestern Division Conference and a featured ensemble at the 20th World Association for Symphonic Bands and Ensembles (WASBE) international conference in Gwangju, South Korea (2024).  

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Dr. Feagin has been honored for his outstanding contributions to teaching and service at CWU. In 2024, he received the Outstanding Tenured/Tenure Track Faculty Teaching Award from the College of Arts and Humanities, recognizing his excellence in teaching. In 2023, he was awarded two President’s Diversity Awards at CWU in both the “faculty” and “community” categories for his significant efforts in promoting equity and belonging within the university and the broader community.

In addition to his appointment in the Department of Music, Dr. Feagin serves as Dean Fellow of Student Success in the College of Arts and Humanities, where his programming and mentorship focus on student academic success, community engagement, and fostering a culture of diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging. Previously, he served as member of the College of Arts and Humanities Diversity, Equity, and Inclusivity Committee, serving as chair for two terms.

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Dr. Feagin has appeared as a conductor with numerous All-state, honor bands, and professional bands and orchestras throughout the United States, Canada, Central and Southwest Europe, and Southeast Asia. As a clinician/presenter, he has been invited to speak on conducting, diversity and inclusivity in music education, and leadership at numerous music educators’ conferences across the United States and around the globe. In 2022 he presented at the WASBE international conference in Prague, Czech Republic.

In 2004, Dr. Feagin was one of three nationally selected conductors to perform with the United States Air Force Band of Mid-America in the inaugural Young Composer/Conductors Mentor Project sponsored by the National Band Association. In 2012, he was one of three nationally selected conductors to perform with the United States Academy Band at West Point during the Association of Concert Bands National Convention. He is the recipient of numerous awards and honors including twice a national finalist in the professional/college wind band division of the American Prize contest. In 2011, he was honored with a proclamation of “Professor T. André Feagin Day” from the Mayor and City Council of El Paso, Texas. Dr. Feagin has served as a teacher resource guide contributing author in four volumes of the Teaching Music Through Performance in Band series (GIA Publications). 

Dr. Feagin holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in wind conducting from the University of Arizona School of Music where he was a student of Gregg I. Hanson. His doctoral research studies Spanish wind composer Bernardo Adam Ferrero and his wind composition Homenaje a Joaquín Sorolla. He holds a Master of Music degree in instrumental wind conducting from the University of Memphis Rudi E. Scheidt School of Music. He is grateful for his mentors and teachers that have shaped his passion for conducting and music education. Among them are Gregg I. Hanson, Eugene Migliaro Corporon, Kraig Alan Williams, Thomas Cockrell, Bruce Chamberlain, Pat Morrow, Darry Pilkington, and Sallie Vines White. 

Dr. Feagin holds professional memberships in the National Association for Music Education, the College Band Directors National Association, the World Association for Symphonic Bands and Ensembles, and the Washington Music Educators Association. He is a Patron of Mu Phi Epsilon and holds honorary memberships in both Tau Beta Sigma and Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia. Dr. Feagin currently serves on the diversity and research committees of the College Band Directors National Association.