AROUND THE WORLD | STEP BY STEP

DMITRI SHOSTAKOVICH was a Soviet composer and pianist who became known all around the world after he premiered his First Symphony in 1926. He is considered a major composer, and was a very important voice both musically and politically though his music durin the Soviet Russia times.

FOLK DANCES was written with a light-hearted style and represents the "joy and exuberance" of the Russian people. This one-movement piece is actually the third movement of a bigger work named Dance of Youth, of My Beloved Country Op. 63. That piece was arranged for Russian bands in 1970, and edited for American bands nine years later by H. Robert Reynolds.

CHANCE is an American composer who studied, taught, and performed across the U.S. and internationally. He got his education in Texas, performed in two U.S. Army Bands ( fourth army, San Antonio, eighth band, Korea), and then was the composer-in-residence at the Greensboro, North Carolina, public schools. He composed for band, orchestra, chorus, chamber groups, and solo instruments.

VARIATIONS ON A KOREAN FOLK SONG is a piece following the Theme and Variations musical form based on the original Korean folk tune named "Arirang". The piece is broken up into six different movments with very contrasting styles.

T. Devin Reid

Interim Associate Director of Bands

Director of Athletic Bands

Devin Reid is currently an active musician and educator throughout the southeast. A native of Fayetteville, NC, Mr. Reid is a 2005 recipient of the North Carolina Teaching Fellows Scholarship. He holds a Master of Music in Wind Band Conducting from Georgia State University and a Bachelor of Music in Music Education from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.

Mr. Reid currently serves as the Interim Associate Director of Bands and Interim Director of Athletic Bands at Georgia State University in Atlanta, GA, and previously served GSU as the Assistant Director of Bands and Undergraduate Director for the School of Music. At Georgia State he co-teaches the Panther Marching Band, conducts the Basketball Band, conducts the Wind Orchestra, teaches undergraduate and graduate level conducting and band literature courses, and supervises student teachers in the field among other duties and courses. Under his leadership, the GSU Concert Band has grown to become the largest instrumental concert ensemble at the university. With Mr. Reid’s direction, the GSU Panther Band performed in 2019 as part of the Pepsi Super Bowl LIII Halftime Show, been accepted as a CBDNA Southern Region top marching band in 2020, and performed in the 2022 Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena, CA. Preceding to his appointment at Georgia State, Mr. Reid taught public school in Georgia and North Carolina and served as Graduate Assistant for the Georgia State University Bands. While teaching at James Kenan High School (NC), Mr. Reid grew the program from 0% to 10% of the school population in just three years. His ensembles performed at numerous events in and out of the community including the NC Muscadine Festival, NC PAS Day of Percussion and the Virginia International Music Festival.

Mr. Reid has presented clinics and workshops at the North Carolina Music Educators Conference, Georgia Music Educators Conference, Tennessee Music Educators Conference, South Carolina Music Educators Conference, Florida Music Educators Conference, American String Teachers Association National Conference and the Georgia State University Bands of Distinction Honor Clinic. He is a recurrent guest conductor at the International Euphonium and Tuba Festival. He is also an active concert band and marching band clinician and adjudicator throughout Georgia, Virginia and North Carolina.

As a performer, Mr. Reid is an actively sought-after musician. He was the percussionist for the popular brass quintet and Delos recording artist “Da Capo Brass”. Their debut album “From The Beginning” stormed the iTunes classical charts at #8 in January 2012. He has also been a member of the regionally acclaimed bluegrass band, “T.R. and the Boys” as baritone vocalist and mandolin player. They have three releases, and their most recent album; “Lonesome” features one of his original songs as the title track. He is a member of the National Association for Music Education, College Band Directors National Association and is an endorser for Sabian Cymbals.

BRAEDEN WEYHRICH

Graduate Teaching Assistant & Wind Band Conducting Student

Braeden Weyhrich is a Master of Music student and graduate assistant at Georgia State University, where she studies wind band conducting with Dr. Robert Ambrose.

Before graduate studies, she was the Band Director at Hinton Community School in northwest Iowa, where she taught and administered all aspects of the band program for students in grades 5-12. She was also the Associate Conductor of the Siouxland All-America Concert Band, Librarian for the Sioux City Municipal Band, and a member of several district and state-wide committees of the Iowa Bandmasters Association. Braeden is a part of The Access Collective, a program piloted in Iowa and soon to expand nationally which works to assist band directors in connecting their students to other people and cultures through music. Braeden holds a Bachelor of Music in Music Education and an Honors College Degree from Oklahoma State University, where she graduated magna cum laude and was recognized as an OSU Alumni Association Outstanding Senior. Her organizational affiliations include Tau Beta Sigma, Sigma Alpha Iota, and Women Band Directors International.

Rachel Breaux

Graduate Teaching Assistant & Wind Band Conducting Student

Rachel Breaux, a native of Temple, GA, is pursuing the Masters of Music degree in Wind Band Conducting. She is a recent graduate of the University of West Georgia where she earned the Masters of Music degree in Flute Performance. While at UWG, Rachel took advantage of conducting opportunities with the Wind Ensemble under the direction of Dr. Joshua Byrd. She also holds a Bachelors of Music degree in Music Education from West Georgia. As a performer, Rachel has studied privately with Elisa Lyle, Candance Keach, and Dr. Tammy Evans, and actively runs a private and sectional studio consisting of students within Carroll, Paulding, Fayette, and Coweta counties. She also participates in marching band instructional staff, flute sectional clinics, beginning and advanced conducting graduate teaching assistant instruction, theatre orchestra pits, and local church orchestras; including the Tabernacle Baptist Church, Roopville Baptist Church, Douglasville Baptist Church, and East Newnan Baptist Church. On the side, Rachel specializes in social media and marketing for local organizations and honor bands. Her professional affiliations include the Georgia Music Educators Association, National Association for Music Education, and the National Band Association. She currently resides in Temple, GA with her 5-year old forever puppy, Oscar.