Wiesbaden, Germany — DoDDS-Europe musical instruction will celebrate an annual milestone with the convening of the DoDDS-E Honors Music Festival March 25-30 in Wiesbaden, Germany. Over 150 high school students, representing 30 schools around Europe, will convene for four days of rehearsal and instruction, culminating in a public performance.

Participants have been selected through an audition process that examined 385 young musicians. The training and performance will involve a band contingent of 63, a choir of 85, and a string ensemble of eight. The addition of strings to the instruction and performance is an innovation this year.

Students will study and practice with 20 DoDDS-E music educators. The guest conductors for the final performances will be Mark Camphouse, band conductor and composer at George Mason University in Fairfax, Va., who will lead the band, and Dr. Lynne Gackle of the University of South Florida, who will conduct the chorus. His Symphonic Fanfare and Three London Miniatures will be part of the program when DoDDS-E students perform March 29.

Lynne Gackle is a clinician, conductor and adjudicator for choral clinics, honor choirs, workshops, and festivals throughout the United States. She has conducted all-state choirs in 20 states and has served as conductor for several Divisional ACDA Honor Choirs and one National Junior High Honor Choir. She has served as conductor of the Australian National Choral Association's High School Women's Choir in Brisbane, Australia, and the Alberta Choral Federation's High School Honor Choir in Calgary, Canada, among others.

She is presently Assistant Professor of Music Education at the University of South Florida, having been a musical educator previously at the New World School of the Arts in Miami, Fla., the University of Mississippi, and the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Fla. She holds a Bachelor of Music Education degree from Louisiana State University and a Master of Music Education and Doctorate of Music Education from the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Fla.

Composer and conductor Mark Camphouse trained at Northwestern University. His works for wind band have received widespread critical acclaim and are performed frequently in the United States and abroad. He is presently Professor of Music at George Mason University in Fairfax, Va., where he conducts the wind symphony and teaches courses in conducting and composition. He is a recipient of the prestigious Outstanding Faculty Award by the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia — the Commonwealth’s highest honor for demonstrated excellence in teaching, research, and public service.

Camphouse has taught previously at Radford University, Blackburn College, St. Cloud State University, and the University of Oklahoma. The Colorado Philharmonic Orchestra premiered his First Symphony when he was 17. He has composed on commission and conducted in such prestigious venues as Carnegie Hall in New York City, the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., and the Royal Albert Hall in London, England.

FOR BACKGROUND AND TO ARRANGE INTERVIEWS, CONTACT:

Mr. Eric Measells
DoDDS-Europe Performing Arts Liaison
DSN: 338-7806
CIV: +49 (0) 611-380-7806
Email: eric.measells@eu.dodea.edu

David Ruderman
Deputy Public Affairs Officer
Office of the Director
DoDDS-Europe
DSN 338-7613/7614
CIV (49) 0611-380-7613/7614
FAX: DSN 338-7685 CIV 0611-380-7685
david.ruderman@eu.dodea.edu

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