David Kish, Conductor and Musical Director

A native of Hershey, Pennsylvania, David Kish is Director of Bands and Professor of Music at Metropolitan State University of Denver (Colorado) where he conducts the Wind Ensemble, Symphonic Band, and teaches conducting and music education courses. In 2015, David was appointed Conductor and Musical Director of the Colorado Wind Ensemble. He has twice served as a Faculty Fellow in the Center for Innovation at MSU Denver, is a member of the editorial board for the Journal of Band Research, and curator of the J.L. Gerardi Band Research Center. David is a recipient of the Faculty Senate Teaching Excellence Award at MSU Denver and the Distinguished Alumni Award from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Most recently, he was elected to membership in the American Bandmasters Association.

David has taught instrumental music at all educational levels, including a position as Associate Director of Bands and Franklin Fellow at the University of Georgia. His writings on wind literature, conducting pedagogy, and music education have been published in The Instrumentalist Magazine, Journal of Band Research, Music Educators Journal, and six volumes of the popular resource texts, Teaching Music Through Performance in Band. He is the author of Brass Methods: an Essential Resource for Educators, Conductors and Students, four volumes of Guides to Band Masterworks, and Practicing with Purpose which received the 2018 “Best Music Education Book” from School Band & Orchestra Magazine.

Dr. Kish earned the Doctor of Musical Arts and Master of Music degrees in Instrumental Conducting and Music Education from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, and Bachelor of Music in Music Education from Susquehanna University in Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania. He has presented sessions at the Midwest International Band and Orchestra Clinic, the National Association of Music Education Conference, and various state music education conferences. He was Conductor-in-Residence at Capital Normal University in Beijing, China, and maintains an active schedule as guest conductor, clinician, and lecturer throughout the United States. Dr. Kish can be reached at: dkish@msudenver.edu