Directors

John Lynch is the new Director of Bands and Professor of Music at the University of Georgia where he will guide all aspects of the band and graduate wind conducting programs. Previous positions include Director of Bands at the University of Kansas, Associate Director of Bands at Northwestern University and Director of Instrumental Music at Emory University. Dr. Lynch has also held positions as Music Director of the Northshore Concert Band and the Atlanta Youth Wind Symphony, and he is the founder of the KU/Kansas City Youth Wind Symphony and the Orange County Music Educators Wind Ensemble. He has ten years of public high school teaching experience in New York State where he was the national recipient of the Stanbury award for outstanding teaching and conducting and the William Revelli Award.

John Lynch has performed throughout the United States, Canada, Europe and Asia, and toured China with the KU Wind Ensemble as a guest of the Chinese government. His first professional recording "Redline Tango" was awarded a contract with the Naxos recording label. An advocate for new music, he has commissioned and recorded numerous new works for winds and has received grants to research contemporary wind band and chamber music in Scandinavia, Spain and Portugal. Dr. Lynch is an active clinician and a published composer through C. Alan Music. His performances have been broadcast throughout the nation on Chicago's WFMT, Peachstate Public Radio and on public radio in Kansas, Connecticut, Virginia, Texas, Colorado, Wisconsin and Ohio.

Awards include a Northwestern Searle Fellow for Teaching Excellence, membership in the Emory Scholars Committee, finalist for the Hungarian Radio Conducting Competition, participation in the Symphonic Conducing Workshop in Slovakia and a recent residency at the Lithuanian Music Academy. Performances include the MENC National Convention, Kansas Music Educators Association Convention, Midwest Band and Orchestra Clinic, Le Festival des Anches d'Azur in France, and honor bands in Seoul, Hong Kong and Singapore. He has been invited to conduct the all-state bands of Texas ('08), New York ('08), Oklahoma, Louisiana and Indiana. John Lynch holds degrees from Indiana University, the Eastman School of Music and the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. Professional affiliations include the College Band Directors National Association, the World Association of Symphonic Bands and Ensembles, the Music Educators National Convention, Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia and Phi Beta Mu. He was elected president of the Big XII Band Directors Association and vice president of the College Band Directors National Association Southwest Division.

Dr. Gregg Gausline is Associate Director of Bands at The University of Georgia where he is conductor of the Wind Symphony and teaches courses in the music education curriculum. He received the Doctor of Musical Arts in Instrumental Conducting from the University of Miami and taught in the public schools of Florida.

Prior to his position at UGA, Dr. Gausline was Director of Instrumental Studies at Indiana/Purdue University-Fort Wayne where he was a member of the Board for the Indiana Music Educators Association, Indiana Chair for the College Band Directors National Association, and selected with the Indiana/Purdue University Wind Ensemble to perform at the IMEA State Convention for the first time in the 40 year history of the university.

Active in scholarly and creative endeavors, Dr. Gausline has presented and guest conducted at international, national, and regional levels. He recently presented and guest conducted at the 2008 Seminario Internacional de Bandas in Bogota, Columbia and guest conducted the Cincinnati Chamber Players at the 2007 World Association for Symphonic Bands and Ensembles International Convention in Killarney, Ireland. He has also guest conducted in Singapore, Canada, and is the Wind Ensemble Conductor for the New York Summer Music Festival.

Dr. Gausline is published in the World Association for Symphonic Band and Ensembles Journal, the National Band Association Journal, the College Band Directors National Association Report, Flute and Flutist (Korean Publication), and Teaching Music through Performance in Band (Volumes 5 and 7). Dr. Gausline enjoys living in Athens with his beautiful wife Alix.

Dr. Mike Robinson is the new Director of Athletic Bands and Assistant Director of Bands at The University of Georgia. He directs the Redcoat Marching Band and oversees all aspects of the Athletic Band Program in addition to conducting the Symphonic Band and teaching courses in music education. A native of Florida, Dr. Robinson received the B.M. and M.M. degrees in Music Education, and the D.M.A. degree in Instrumental Conducting from the University of Miami. Prior to his appointment at the University of Georgia, he served as the Associate Director of Bands at the University of South Florida and as Director of Bands at Fort Hays State University in Kansas. Dr. Robinson also taught eleven years in the public schools of Florida, most notably as Director of Bands at Seminole High School in Seminole, Florida. Throughout his career Dr. Robinson has received numerous honors and awards including Teacher of the Year in Pinellas County in 1995, and City of Seminole Educator of the Year in 1994. Most recently he received the USF College of Visual and Performing Arts Outstanding Service Award in 2003, the Orpheus Award from Phi Mu Alpha in 2006, and the Friend of the Arts award from Sigma Alpha Iota in 2007. His recent conducting and adjudication activities include appearances at the University of Arizona, Baylor University, Berklee College of Music, University of Kentucky, University of Miami, University of New Mexico, University of Tennessee-Martin, Western Kentucky University, and Ohio University among others. Dr. Robinson also has extensive experience in the marching arts and most recently served as a music/show consultant for the Boston Crusaders Drum and Bugle Corps a perennial top 12 DCI finalist. In addition, Robinson has also served in a variety of capacities on the music staffs of top DCI corps such as the Cadets of Bergen County, Carolina Crown, Iowa Colts, and Suncoast Sound.

Dr. Robinson holds memberships in the FMEA, MENC, FBA, ASBDA, NBA, IHS, Kappa Kappa Psi, and Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia.

Nikk Pilato is Assistant Director of Bands and Associate Director of the Redcoat Band at the University of Georgia. In this capacity, he assists with all aspects of the band program, including directing the UGA Concert Winds, teaching courses in conducting and orchestration, and being involved with the administration, design, and instruction of the Sudler Trophy-winning Redcoat Marching Band.

Dr. Pilato received the Bachelor of Music Education (B.M.E.), Master of Music Education (M.M.E.), and Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degrees in Music Education from the Florida State University College of Music in Tallahassee, Florida. His primary conducting teachers were Richard Clary, Patrick Dunnigan, and Jim Croft. His dissertation, a transcription for winds of Joseph Schwantner's "New Morning for the World," is published by Schott Music and UMI. During his tenure at Florida State University, Dr. Pilato served as Principal Euphonium in the University's Wind Orchestra and Wind Symphony; taught and assisted with courses in brass techniques, instrumental programming, and conducting; served as an assistant conductor with the Wind Orchestra, the Symphonic Band, the Campus Band, and the Chamber Winds; and wrote drill and music for the University Marching Chiefs.

Prior to his appointment at the University of Georgia, Dr. Pilato served as a post-doctoral fellow at the University of Louisville, taught band and orchestra in the public schools of South Florida, and was a member of the Phantom Regiment Drum and Bugle Corps, serving as lead baritone and conductor. He maintains a busy profile as a professional drill designer and music arranger for various high school programs throughout the United States. Dr. Pilato's professional affiliations include the College Band Directors National Association, the Music Educators National Conference, the World Association of Symphonic Bands and Ensembles, the National Band Association, and the Georgia and Florida Music Educators Association.