Dr. Martin Rowden

Martin was born in Oxford, England and in 1961 he became a member of The Salvation Army church where he received his early musical training from dedicated Salvation Army bandsmen. At 18 he joined the Band of the Royal Air Force Regiment (UK) and after immigrating to Australia in 1971, he joined the Australian Army Band.

 As a mature adult student he commenced music studies in Australia where he earned the Diploma of Teaching and the Bachelor of Education degrees. Later at the University of Illinois (Champaign-Urbana) he earned the MS degree (1985) and the EdD degree (1996) He also holds a Licentiate Diploma in Band Conducting from the Trinity College of Music, London.

 Until moving to the US in 2007, Martin was Director of Music at various State and Private schools in Australia where he taught Band, Orchestra, Choir and General Music. He has also been a guest teacher in Singapore and Peru, and directed numerous community bands and choirs.

 Martin continues to be a member of The Salvation Army church and is currently the Music and Gospel Arts Director for the Wisconsin and Upper Michigan area. Whenever possible he plays and directs Salvation Army bands, and is thankful to God for the opportunities he has been given to make a difference through music to many young people throughout his life

Dr. Rowden will conduct the October 23, 2011 program, "Ghosts & Goblins", as well as the festival concert "Best of the British" on March 25, 2012.

Mark A. Taylor

Making his Wisconsin debut with the Milwaukee Festival Brass this season, Mark A. Taylor is a Doctoral Conducting Associate of Professor Eugene Migliaro Corporon at the University of North Texas College of Music.  A conductor, educator, and performer in demand throughout the Great Lakes region, Mr. Taylor served five years as director of bands and coordinator of ensembles at Loyola University Chicago prior to beginning his doctoral studies.  He was also a member of the music education faculty for the Chicago College of Peforming Arts at Roosevelt University. 

Mr. Taylor attended the University of Notre Dame, receiving BA degrees in music and mathematics.  While there, he performed as a percussionist in the Concert Band and Chamber Orchestra; sang in the Liturgical Choir, Collegium Musicum, and Men’s Glee Club; served as a cantor in Sacred Heart Basilica; led the Band of the Fighting Irish as drum major; and studied conducting with Walter Ginter and Carl Stam. 

 After a period working in advertising in Chicago, Mr. Taylor pursued graduate studies at Northwestern University.  His master of music degrees in instrumental music education and wind conducting concluded studies with renowned education specialists Bennett Reimer and Peter Webster and conductors John P. Paynter and Stephen Peterson.  Before joining the music faculty at Loyola University, Mr. Taylor taught band at the elementary, middle school, and high school levels in Chicago’s northern suburbs.  His bands have received numerous superior ratings and awards.

 As a percussionist, Mr. Taylor performed with the Chicago Brass Band, named North American Brass Band Association champion in 2004 and runner-up in 2008.  He is a member of the National Band Association, College Music Society, College Band Directors National Association, and Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia.  He and his wife and son reside in Lake Forest, IL.

Please join the Milwaukee Festival Brass led by Mark Taylor on December 18, 2011 for their "Holiday in Brass" concert, and on May 20, 2012 for "Brass Olympiad".

Dr. Walter Rich

Dr. Walter H. Rich, conductor of the Milwaukee Festival Youth Brass, is currently on the faculty of Edgewood College where he conducts the Edgewood College Concert Band. He also conducts the Sheboygan Area Youth Symphony, the Oconomowoc American Legion Band, and teaches instrumental music at Holy Trinity School in Kewaskum, Wisconsin, and St. Mary’s School in West Bend, Wisconsin. He holds an undergraduate degree in Music Education from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a Master’s Degree in music performance from Northwestern University, where he studied with    Mr. Arnold Jacobs, the legendary Principal Tuba player of the Chicago Symphony.

Walter earned his PhD in Curriculum and Instruction/Music Education at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He began his public school teaching career in the Milwaukee Public Schools and taught for a decade in the Elmbrook school district. Walter has taught music education at the University of Wisconsin and worked with student teachers at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. He served as an adjunct faculty member at Indiana State University, teaching studio tuba and performing with the faculty brass quintet.

Walter currently holds the principal tuba chair in the Sheboygan Symphony Orchestra and performs with the Smashing Tubas Quartet. He has performed as the principal tuba player in the Champaign-Urbana Symphony and the Racine Symphony Orchestra and has been an Assistant Professor of music at Lakeland College. Walter often conducts clinics with area bands and honors groups as well as adjudicating at solo and ensemble festivals sponsored by the Wisconsin School Music Association.