OUR MUSIC DIRECTOR
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Erik Janners, Music Director and Conductor of the Knightwind Ensemble, is internationally recognized as a conductor, scholar and performer. He holds degrees in percussion and conducting from Alma College, the University of Utah, and the University of Alabama. In addition to his duties with Knightwind, Dr. Janners serves as the Director of Music at Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, a position he has held since 2007. Prior to his arrival at Marquette University, Dr. Janners was Director of Bands at Saint Xavier University in Chicago, Illinois, and at the University of Regina in Saskatchewan, Canada. His achievements in these positions have included the founding of the Marquette University Wind Ensemble and the University of Regina Wind Ensemble, as well as the creation of the Saint Xavier University Conducting Workshop. He also served as Director of the University of Regina Honor Band, the University of Regina Conducting Symposium, and the Saint Xavier University Conducting Workshop. While in Canada, Dr. Janners created his own television show, entitled For the Love of Music, to bring the music of concert bands and wind ensembles to the people of Saskatchewan. He was also able, through his great energy and vision, to bring together the best artists in Saskatchewan for rare performances of chamber music masterworks, including Stravinskys L histoire du Soldat, Waltons Facade, and Milhauds La Creation du Monde. |
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Over the course of his conducting career, Dr. Janners has also remained extremely active as a percussionist, having performed as a percussionist with the Regina Symphony Orchestra and Tuscaloosa Symphony Orchestra, in addition to maintaining an active solo and chamber music performing career. Now Director of Music at Marquette University in
Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Dr. Janners conducts the wind ensemble, jazz ensemble,
and pep bands. He also supervises the overall music program at Marquette.
Since his arrival at Marquette, the University has instituted a music minor
program of study, renovated the music area to include practice rooms and
improved music library and instrument storage spaces, and has instituted a
program with the Rockley Piano Foundation to provide nearly 20 pianos for use
campus-wide. Among his most recent honors, Dr. Janners was the recipient of
the 2007 Excellence in Teaching Award from Saint Xavier University. He is in
high demand as a guest conductor, clinician and adjudicator, and presented a
series of clinics on performance psychology at the Iowa State Music
Conference, the Indiana State Music Conference, the Michigan Music
Conference, and the Midwest Clinic in Chicago, Illinois, during the 2007-2008
school year. He also serves as a pre-concert lecturer for the Milwaukee
Symphony Orchestra. As a scholar, Dr. Janners has had numerous articles published in the Instrumentalist magazine, as well as in Canadian Winds, the national periodical of the Canadian Band Association. His research interests include wind band literature, conducting pedagogy and technique, and performance psychology in its application to the field of music. He is a member of the National Band Association, College Music Society, The World Association of Symphonic Bands and Ensembles (WASBE), the College Band Directors National Association (CBDNA), the Conductors Guild, Music Educators National Conference (MENC), the National Band Association, and the Percussive Arts Society. |
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OUR
PREVIOUS DIRECTOR Our previous Music Director, Maestro John Steinke, retired
in late 2009 after leading the Knightwind Ensemble for 32 years. Here are some of his parting thoughts. |
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