Gary Green
Gary D. Green is Emeritus Professor of Music and Director of Bands at the Frost School of Music at the University of Miami. While teaching at the University of Miami Frost School of Music in addition to supervising all band activities, he was the conductor of the Frost Wind Ensemble, supervised all graduate conducting students in the wind and percussion area and served as the Chairman of Instrumental Performance for seventeen years.
Prior to coming to Miami, Professor Green served for ten years as Director of Bands the University of Connecticut in Storrs, Connecticut. While at the University of Connecticut, Professor Green was influential in commissioning and recording new works for winds and percussion including Symphony No. 3 by David Maslanka and A Cornfield in July and the River by William Penn.
During his tenure at the University of Miami, professor Green continued the commissioning and performance of important new repertoire for winds and percussion. Under his direction, the Frost Wind Ensemble has performed on two separate occasions for the convention of the American Bandmasters Association as well as twice for the national convention of the College Band Directors National Association.
Recent commissions and consortia from composers include William Penn, Joel Puckett, Mason Bates, Michael Daugherty, David Maslanka, Paul Dooley, Steve Danyew, Steven Bryant, David Gillingham, James Stephenson, Christopher Theofanidis, John Harbison, James Syler, Eric Whitacre, Frank Ticheli, Thomas Sleeper, Kenneth Fuchs and others. Urban Requiem by Michael Colgrass was commissioned by the Abraham Frost Commission Series and has become a standard in the repertoire for wind ensemble. Among other new compositions written for winds and percussion was the commission for the Frost Wind Ensemble of Christopher Rouse’s Wolf Rounds.
Gerard Schwarz
Internationally recognized for his moving performances, innovative programming and extensive catalog of recordings, American conductor Gerard Schwarz serves as Music Director of the All-Star Orchestra, Eastern Music Festival, Palm Beach Symphony, and Mozart Orchestra of New York, and is Conductor Laureate of the Seattle Symphony Orchestra and Conductor Emeritus of the Mostly Mozart Festival. He is a Distinguished Professor of Music; Conducting and Orchestral Studies of the Frost School of Music at the University of Miami and Music Director of the Frost Symphony Orchestra.
His considerable discography of over 350 albums showcases his collaborations with some of the world’s greatest orchestras including The Philadelphia Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra, Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre National de France, Tokyo Philharmonic, Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, New York Chamber Symphony, and Seattle Symphony Orchestra among others. In 2017 The Gerard Schwarz Collection, a 30-CD box set of previously unreleased or limited release works spanning his entire recording career was released by Naxos.
Schwarz began his professional career as co-principal trumpet of the New York Philharmonic and has held Music Director positions with the Mostly Mozart Festival, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, and New York Chamber Symphony. As a guest conductor, he has worked with many of the world’s finest orchestras and has led the San Francisco, Washington National, and Seattle Opera companies on many occasions. He is also a gifted composer and arranger with an extensive catalog of works that have been premiered by ensembles across the United States, Europe, and Korea.
Schwarz is a renowned interpreter of 19th century German, Austrian and Russian repertoire in addition to his noted work with contemporary American composers. He completed his final season as Music Director of the Seattle Symphony in 2011 after an acclaimed 26 years - a period of dramatic artistic growth for the ensemble.
In his nearly five decades as a respected classical musician and conductor, Schwarz has received hundreds of honors and accolades including Emmy Awards, GRAMMY nominations, ASCAP Awards, and the Ditson Conductor’s Award. He was the first American named Conductor of the Year by Musical America and has received numerous honorary doctorates. The City of Seattle named the street alongside the Benaroya Hall “Gerard Schwarz Place” in his honor. His book, Behind the Baton, was released by Amadeus Press in March 2017. Schwarz has been married to his wife Jody for over 37 years, and he has four children.
Michael Hancock
Dr. Michael Hancock is Director of Bands at the University of Miami Frost School of Music, where he conducts the renowned Frost Wind Ensemble, leads the graduate instrumental conducting program, and oversees the concert and athletic ensembles within the Frost Bands Area.
A strong advocate for inclusive and collaborative music-making, Dr. Hancock’s career bridges professional and educational settings across a wide range of ensemble styles. His work often involves partnerships with visual artists, actors, composers, and soloists, and his ensembles are known for championing contemporary music. They’ve earned praise from leading composers such as Michael Colgrass, Michael Daugherty, Zhou Tian, Paul Dooley, Jessica Meyer, Joel Puckett, and James Stephenson, and have performed at major conferences including College Band Directors’ National Association, Oklahoma Music Educators Association, and Oklahoma Bandmasters Association.
Dr. Hancock began his career teaching in Arkansas and Texas public schools and remains committed to inspiring young musicians. He regularly serves as a guest conductor and clinician at State and Regional Honor Bands across the country, has presented at the Midwest Clinic and numerous state conferences, and will be a featured contributor to Rehearsing the Band, Vol. 4 (Meredith Music) in December.
He is excited and honored to return home to the Frost School of Music where he earned his DMA and MM under the mentorship of Gary Green. His studies also include a BM in Music Education from Arkansas Tech University, and orchestral conducting at the Conservatorium Maastricht in the Netherlands. Dr. Hancock is a member of Pi Kappa Lambda, Phi Beta Mu, College Band Directors National Association, World Association for Symphonic Bands and Ensembles, Florida Music Educators Association, Florida Bandmasters Association, and NAfME.
