PLU Invitational Band Festival

Dr. Thomas Taylor Dickey is a conductor and educator whose work is marked by energy, musical depth, and a deep commitment to connecting people through orchestral music. He currently serves as Director of Orchestral Studies at Pacific Lutheran University, where he conducts the PLU Symphony Orchestra and leads the university’s orchestral program with a focus on mentorship, artistic excellence, and community engagement. Thomas’s conducting career has taken him around the world. He has led performances with professional orchestras across North America, Europe, and Asia, including the Bucharest Symphony, Shenyang Symphony, Danube Symphony Orchestra, Belgrade Chamber Orchestra, Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, Tulsa Symphony, Naples Philharmonic, and many others. Equally at home in the educational sphere, he has conducted all-state and honors orchestras in more than 35 U.S. states, inspiring young musicians with his enthusiasm and clarity on the podium.

A passionate advocate for musical excellence, Thomas has been recognized with several international awards, including the Gold Prize at the 2022 World Classical Music Awards and Second Prize at the 2019 Mozart & Tchaikovsky International Conducting Competition. Critics have described his work as “dynamic and exciting” and praised his performances as being “imbued with aplomb, energy, and pathos.” Before arriving at PLU, Thomas held faculty and conducting appointments at Oklahoma State University, the University of Wisconsin–Platteville, and the University of Evansville, shaping the next generation of conductors and orchestral musicians. His academic journey began at Eastern Illinois University, continued with a master’s at Louisiana State University, and culminated in a Doctor of Musical Arts in orchestral conducting from the University of Georgia. Along the way, he has studied with renowned conductors including Jin Wang, Jorma Panula, Carl Topilow, Christopher Zimmerman, and Gustav Meier, and has refined his craft in masterclasses at institutions such as the Cleveland Institute of Music, the Prague Academy of Performing Arts, and the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. Whether on the podium, in rehearsal, or working one-on-one with students, Thomas is guided by a core belief: that orchestral music is a powerful tool for expression, learning, and human connection.

School of Music alumna Erin Bodnar (’13 DMA, Wind Conducting) returns to the University of Washington in Fall 2025 as director of UW Concert Bands, a one-year appointment following the recent retirement of longtime director Timothy Salzman.

While earning her DMA in Wind Conducting at the UW, Bodner studied with Salzman and assisted with direction of the UW Wind Ensemble as well as co-leading with other graduate student conductors the UW’s Concert and Campus Bands.

In order to accept the UW opportunity, Bodnar took a one-year leave from her position at the University of North Florida (UNF), where she is Associate Professor of Music and Director of Bands.

“We are pleased to welcome Erin Bodnar back to the UW this fall,” says School of Music Director Joël-François Durand. “As a former student of Timothy Salzman, she will provide an important sense of continuity to the ensembles. The bands will be in very capable hands with Erin at the helm in 2025-26.”

Prior to her appointment at UNF, Bodnar served four years as Director of Bands at Graceland University in Lamoni, Iowa. During 2013-2014, she conducted the Wind Symphony and Orchestra at Mahidol University in Bangkok, Thailand. She maintains an active schedule as a guest conductor and clinician, traveling to Argentina, Thailand, Indonesia, and throughout the United States and Canada. Her research interests include conducting pedagogy and motor cognition, and her articles have been published in the Journal of Music Teacher Education and Music Perception.

An avid runner, Bodnar has completed 60 marathons to date. This summer, she is participating in Run Across Alberta (220 miles), a fundraising initiative to end Multiple Sclerosis.

At the UW, she will conduct the UW’s top auditioned wind bands, the UW Wind Ensemble and the Symphonic Band, and oversee graduate student conductors and their work with the non-auditioned Campus and Concert Bands, which represent musicians from throughout the UW’s degree programs.