Michael Antmann is in his 26th year as a music educator and his 11th as Director of Bands at Freedom High School in Orlando, Florida. Dr. Antmann previously served as the Music Resource Teacher for Orange County Public Schools and held director positions at Bridgewater Middle School and Swift Creek Middle School. Ensembles under his direction have consistently earned Superior ratings at Music Performance Assessments and have been featured at prestigious regional and national events, including the CBDNA/NBA Southern Division Conference (2006, 2024), the Florida Music Education Association (FMEA) Conference (2011, 2014, 2022), and the 2026 Midwest Clinic in Chicago.

Beyond his work at Freedom High School, Dr. Antmann is an active conductor in the community, serving as the musical director for the Encore Performing Arts Youth Big Band and the Lake Community Arts Concert Band. His contributions to the field have been recognized with five National Band Association Citations of Excellence, the FBA Oliver Hobbs Award, and the FBA Tom Bishop Award. He is a two-time recipient of the OCPS/Kessler Grand Bohemian Excellence in Teaching Fine Arts Award and was named a Music Teacher of Excellence by the Country Music Association. Additionally, he was a  semi-finalist for the Grammy Music Educator Award in 2019, 2020, and 2025.

A committed clinician and mentor, Dr. Antmann is the co-founder of the Florida Band Director Workshop, an intensive program focused on conceptual teaching and band pedagogy. He has presented sessions at state and national conferences on topics including assessment, student engagement, and teaching fundamentals. He currently serves as President of the Florida Bandmasters Association and holds professional memberships in the FBA, FMEA, the American School Band Directors Association (ASBDA), and the National Band Association (NBA). Dr. Antmann earned his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Music Education from Florida State University and a Doctor of Education from the University of Central Florida.

Nancy Beebe, a National Board Certified Teacher from 2005-2015, has 40 years of teaching experience. Mrs. Beebe recently retired as the String Director at Bak Middle School of the Arts where she taught for the last 27 years. Prior to teaching at Bak Middle School of the Arts, Mrs. Beebe taught elementary music for ten years. She initiated and directed successful after-school string programs. Before coming to Florida, she was the Music Director at a Private Academy in Parma Heights, Ohio as well as a conductor of a Youth Orchestra. Mrs. Beebe earned her Bachelor of Music degree from Bowling Green State University where she studied cello with Dr. Alan Smith and performed in master classes for Nathaniel Rosen and Gordon Epperson.

Under Mrs. Beebe’s leadership, the Bak Advanced String Orchestra, Symphony Orchestra and Intermediate II String Orchestras ‘received straight superior ratings at the Florida Orchestra Association’s Music Performance Assessments for the last 27 years as well as high acclaim and top awards at middle and high school festivals and competitions both nationally and internationally.  Under her direction, the Advanced String Orchestra has had the honor of performing at Carnegie Hall three times, Symphony Hall in Boston, the Royal Academy of Music in London, and Orchestra Hall in Chicago three times through Worldstrides.  In 2016, the Advanced String Orchestra was invited to perform at the Florida Music Educator Association’s President Concert.  This past year, they competed and performed in the National Festival Orchestra in Atlanta Georgia in conjunction with the American String Teacher Association’s Conference and won “Grand Championship” in the Middle School Category.  The group performed for an audience of over 2000 people.

This past April, Mrs. Beebe received the Randolph A. Frank Prize from the Palm Beach Symphony Orchestra for “Performing Arts Educator.” Mrs. Beebe has been nominated twice for the Palm Beach County Economic Council William T. Dwyer Awards for Excellence in Education. In 2007, she was a finalist. In Novermber, 2005, Mrs. Beebe was the recipient of the “Music Teacher of the Year” Award by the Palm Beach County Youth Orchestra.

Mrs. Beebe is an active guest conductor and certified adjudicator for the state of Florida. In January 2025, she conducted the 7-8 Honors Orchestra at the FMEA State Music Conference.  She is the Past President of the Florida Orchestra Association as well as Past President of the Florida American String Teachers Association.  Under her leadership as President of the FLASTA, a Spanish piece, “Cincopations,” was commissioned for the 2010 7-8 Middle School All-State String Orchestra by composer Richard Meyer.

Charlene Cannon is entering her 16th year as a music educator and band director and is in her 5th year as Band Director at Horizon High School which she opened in 2021. Prior to Horizon, she taught band at Freedom High School and Bridgewater Middle School. Ms. Cannon holds a Master of Arts degree in Music Education from the University of South Florida and a Bachelor of Music Education degree from Florida State University, where she graduated Magna cum Laude. 

Bands under Ms. Cannon’s direction have earned performance invitations including Florida Music Education Association (FMEA) Professional Development Conference (2014, 2016, 2022), National Cherry Blossom Parade in Washington, D.C. (2019, 2025), Chicago St. Patrick’s Day Parade (2023), and Savannah St. Patrick’s Day Parade (2023). She was the Bridgewater Middle School Teacher of the Year (2015) and received the Orange County Public Schools (OCPS)/Kessler Grand Bohemian Excellence in Teaching Fine Arts Award (2015).  Recently, she was named a Yamaha Corporation of America “40 Under 40” Music Educator (2024).

Ms. Cannon is active as a guest conductor and clinician throughout the state of Florida and has presented sessions at conferences for FMEA, Florida Flute Association, National Flute Association, and the Midwest International Band and Orchestra Clinic. In 2018, she was a featured speaker for the “Women in Music” series at the University of Central Florida. Among her other instructional duties at Freedom High School, Ms. Cannon also developed and directed a Flute Choir class and program for three years which included an emphasis on the development of individual musicianship, flute performance fundamentals, and flute pedagogy for high school flutists. 

Ms. Cannon serves in leadership roles for FMEA and the Florida Bandmasters Association (FBA) and is an active member of the Florida Flute Association (FFA), National Flute Association (NFA), and the National Band Association (NBA). She is also on staff for the Florida Band Director Workshop in Titusville, a retreat-style workshop for band directors which is  focused on conceptual teaching and band pedagogy.  Ms. Cannon is the Tri-M Music Honor Society Chapter Sponsor for Horizon High School as well as the Department Lead for Horizon High School Performing Arts.

Alexander Kaminsky was appointed Director of Bands and Associate Professor of Music at VanderCook College of Music in 2019 after a highly successful tenure at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, FL.  Previous to that, Kaminsky led the band programs at Buchholz High School, Lincoln High School, Auburndale High School, and Cocoa Beach Jr/Sr High School, all of which excelled under his direction.  He holds degrees from the University of Florida and Indiana University, is active as an adjudicator, and is in demand as a guest conductor/clinician across the country.

Throughout his 30-year career as a high school band director, Kaminsky’s ensembles consistently earned Superior ratings at all levels of evaluation.  In addition to earning straight Superior ratings at the Florida Bandmasters Association (FBA) State Concert Band Assessment for an unprecedented 21 years (the last 11 years with both his first and second bands), he is the only director in the history of the FBA to have had three concert bands from one school earn straight Superior ratings at State, and he achieved this three times (2009, 2018, and 2019).

Kaminsky’s high school bands performed at the Midwest Clinic (2005, 2009, 2014, and 2018), ABA National Convention (2014), CBDNA/NBA Southern Division Conference (2004 and 2014), FMEA State Conference (2014), Music for All National Concert Band Festival (2002 and 2012), and the National Wind Band Festival at Carnegie Hall (2009 and 2018).  In 2018, the Stoneman Douglas Wind Symphony was named a Mark of Excellence National Wind Band Honors winner as one of only ten 6A bands in the nation.  His marching bands consistently placed in the Florida Marching Band State Championship Finals, winning several FMBC State Championships (including 4 of his last 6 years as a high school band director), as well as being named a finalist band at BOA regional competitions.

Kaminsky has presented his clinic “How Can I Get My Band to Sound Like That” at various conferences and workshops, and his hands-on rehearsal demonstrations for the annual “How To Fix It” series at the FMEA Professional Development Conference received high acclaim with over 900 attendees in 2019.  Most recently, he presented “The Kaminsky Method” at the 2024 Midwest Clinic to a standing-room-only crowd. He has been awarded the National Band Association’s Citation of Excellence numerous times and has been recognized with several achievement awards for education including Florida’s 2019 FMEA Secondary Music Educator of the Year Award, FBA Oliver Hobbs Award, FBA Andrew J. Crew Award, National Honor Roll’s Outstanding American Teacher, Nobel Educator of Distinction, Teacher of the Year, and is listed in Who’s Who Among America’s Teachers.

Kaminsky is a Conn-Selmer Educational Clinician, an elected member of the prestigious American Bandmasters Association and the American School Band Directors’ Association, and also holds memberships in CBDNA, NBA, and Phi Beta Mu.  He has served on many state and national committees, currently serving on the ABA Sousa/Ostwald Award Committee and the ABA School Bands Task Force, and is the NBA National Student Chapters Advisor.  Kaminsky is a National Board Certified Teacher and has been featured in several publications including The Instrumentalist, Teaching Music, Halftime Magazine, School Band & Orchestra Magazine’s “50 Directors Who Make A Difference,” Home Magazine’s “12 Exceptional Educators,” and most recently, Inspiring a Love of Music published by GIA Publications.

Jim Matthews was the band director at Jackson Middle School in Titusville, Fl for thirty years (1985-2015) before taking on a new position as an Instructional Coach for Band Directors for Brevard Public Schools (2015-2023.) After retiring from the public school system, he started a brand new band program at Park Avenue Christian Academy in Titusville where he currently teaches. He received both his BME (1985) and MME (2001) from The Florida State University.

Mr. Matthews has presented numerous clinics in Brevard County, at FMEA Conferences, opening professional development sessions in several counties throughout Florida, as well as in Virginia, Alabama and Kansas. His focus is usually on Creating Cooperative Culture, Classroom Management Skills, Sound Fundamentals and teaching Musical Expression. His passion is working with students and young directors.

Mr. Matthews has conducted over 60 all-county and honor bands as well as four university honor groups.  He has authored two books: The Achievement System – Alfred Publications and Principles of Musical Performance an ebook on Amazon. He also Co-Founded the Florida Band Director Workshop which is a comprehensive teacher workshop held each June in Titusville, Fl.  Jim served on three FBA committees for many years – Concert Music, Adjudication and Retired Band Directors (which he is still chairing). He is a proud member of FBA, FMEA, and Phi Beta Mu.

Jim is very happily married to the love of his life – Laura Matthews. They have two grown children, and three grandchildren.

Chung Park is an internationally recognized conductor, music educator, and editor. He is an associate professor of music at St. Olaf College where he conducts the award-winning St. Olaf Orchestra, teaches conducting, violin and viola. The  St. Olaf Orchestra maintains a strong presence on public radio’s Performance Today, with performances receiving regular broadcasts on America’s most popular classical music program. Park is an ardent believer in the value of a liberal arts education, the breadth and depth it provides, and the possibilities inherent in its ability to address the whole person.

Dr. Park has held positions at the University of Central Florida, Appalachian State University, the Idaho State-Civic Symphony, Idaho State University, Frost School of Music at the University of Miami, the University of Chicago, the University of North Dakota, and Indiana University-South Bend. Park maintains an active schedule as a guest conductor, working with student honor orchestras across the United States. He will lead all-state orchestras in Minnesota, North Carolina and Wyoming this academic year. Dr. Park serves as an editor for Bärenreiter-Verlag, the preeminent publisher of scholarly performance editions. His viola transcription of J.S. Bach’s Six Suites for Violoncello Solo was released in the spring of 2023, and is used by students and faculty at top institutions internationally. A new viola transcription of Bach’s Sonatas and Partitas for Solo Violin was released in October of 2025. 

Dr. Park has given string masterclasses and served as guest faculty at notable institutions including the Gifted Music School in Salt Lake City, Utah, and the Pierre Monteux School for Conductors and Orchestral Musicians in Hancock, Maine. Deeply engaged in the life of the American music education community, Dr. Park has given hundreds of clinics in schools throughout the United States for all levels. 

Dr. Park earned his doctorate in instrumental conducting from the University of Miami. He holds master of music degrees in orchestral conducting from the University of Illinois, viola performance from Western Michigan University, and a B.M. in viola performance from the Peabody Institute. Major influences on Dr. Park’s pedagogical and musical philosophies come from Hatto Beyerle, founding violist of the Alban Berg Quartet, with whom he studied privately in Hanover, Germany and noted conductor and composer Thomas Sleeper. Dr. Park continues to work on expanding his pedagogical scope, studying theories of musicianship and psycho-acoustics with noted theoretician and musical scientist Marianne Ploger, emerita professor at Vanderbilt University and composition with Robert Gjerdingen, emeritus professor at Northwestern University. Dr. Park draws inspiration for his life and work from the writings of Wendell Berry and Thomas Merton.

Ian Schwindt teaches instrumental music at Titusville High School where he has served for the last twenty-five years. During his tenure, the program has doubled in size and significantly expanded its musical offerings including a full orchestra, AP music theory, and an active chamber ensemble program.  Through these years, THS has been named a Music Demonstration School twice and a Model Arts School by the State of Florida and has earned multiple FMEA enrollment awards. Titusville ensembles consistently earn Superiors at MPAs and have performed at the FMEA President’s Concert and the Stetson Invitational.  

Ian has served as the conductor of the Brevard County Youth Orchestra Symphony and Symphony director for the Creative Young Artists. He also conducts Melodies and Masterpieces each year. Ian remains active as a clinician and adjudicator for both FBA and FOA across the state. He regularly conducts many select ensembles including the Florida State University Summer Music Camps, Honor Bands in Tennessee and Kansas and All-County groups state-wide. One of the founding members of the Florida Band Director Workshop, Ian remains active as an administrator and a faculty member. 

Ian serves in several school and district leadership positions including Department Chair, Brevard County Music Leadership Team and the Brevard County Music Advisory Board. He was elected to serve two terms as FBA District Chairman as well as being appointed as the All-State chair for six years and as a board member of the FSMA state board for four years. He is a past president of the Florida Bandmasters Association. 

As a trombonist, Ian stays active playing and as a featured soloist with multiple central Florida ensembles including Central Florida Winds, Central Florida Brass Band, Southern Winds, and Hot Pink. He also keeps an active trombone studio. Ian’s students have gained entry to multiple all-county and all-state groups as well as prestigious universities including New England Conservatory of Music, San Francisco Conservatory, Curtis Institute of Music, Cleveland Institute of Music, Yale, Florida State University and Stetson. He currently serves as the professor of trombone at Bethany Lutheran College.

Ian’s awards include being named the 2016-2017 Florida Music Education Association Secondary Music Educator of the year, 2020 Sousa Foundation Legion of Honor inductee, National Band Association Citation for Excellence, the FBA Oliver Hobbs Award, the FBA Tom Bishop award, and Titusville High School Teacher of the Year. Ian’s professional affiliations include FMEA, FBA, FOA and Phi Beta Mu.