Music For All Names Hall of Fame Inductees
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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowIndianapolis-based Music For All is including three Indy-area music educators in its 2018 Bands of America Hall of Fame class. The honorees will be inducted during its national festival in March.
The nonprofit says the hall of fame "honors individuals who have made a significant impact on Bands of America, music education, and America’s band activity; exemplify impeccable character, ethics and professionalism; and are role models for music education professionals."
The 2018 class of inductees includes:
• Randy Greenwell: Retired director of bands/performing arts department chair at Lawrence Central High School in Indianapolis and currently the educational support manager for Conn-Selmer. While at Lawrence, his bands (working in tandem with inductee Matt James) earned national honors, with the marching band winning the Bands of America Grand National Championships in 2001 and 2004.
• Matt James: Director of performing arts, director of bands, and the performing arts department chair at Lawrence Central High School. Under his baton, the Lawrence Central Wind Ensemble has won five state concert band championships, has appeared twice at the Music for All National Festival, and several times at the Indiana Music Educators conference. He is an award-winning drill designer for high schools and drum corps. His designs have received numerous honors, including two Bands of America Grand National Championships (2001 and 2004), one Fiesta Bowl championship, four state championships, several Bands of America Regional Championships, 17 appearances at the Bands of America Grand National Finals with Lawrence Central, and over a dozen state championships with other high school marching bands from around the Midwest.
• Dean Westman: Performing arts department chair and director of orchestras at Avon High School. In the 11 years since Mr. Westman founded the program, the Avon Orchestras have performed at the Skirball Center for the Performing Arts in New York City, the Midwest Clinic in Chicago, and will perform in Italy and Austria this June. The Avon Symphony Orchestra was the 2017 Indiana State School Music Association State Runner-up. Mr. Westman serves on the design team for the three-time Bands of America Grand National Champion and 13-time Indiana State Champion Avon Marching Black & Gold. Prior to his work in Avon, Mr. Westman served as Educational Director for Bands of America and Music for All.
• Kevin Ford: Founder and director of the Leadership Conservatory for the Arts at Tarpon Springs High School. As director of bands for over two decades, he oversees the Wind Ensemble and Marching Band, which won the Bands of America Grand National Championships in 2014 and has also participated in the Music for All National Concert Band Festival in 2001. In addition to coaching and supervising all Conservatory performance ensembles, he develops the curriculum for the Conservatory Student Leadership Courses.
You can learn more about the Bands of America Hall of Fame by clicking here.