Middle School Honors Band Festival

Erin Holmes launched her career at the beginning of the millennium by attaining a teaching position in Farmington Area Public Schools, District 192. As the Director of Bands at Farmington High School, Ms. Holmes conducts the Varsity Band, Wind Ensemble, Jazz I, and is the head director of the award winning Farmington Tiger Marching Band. Her ensembles have made appearances on the Dave Ryan in the Morning show on KDWB, and as KSTP’s featured High School Band on Sports Wrap. She has a host of responsibilities at Farmington High School that include serving as  the FHS Music Department Chair, developing curriculum, planning tours, hosting and attending band festivals, as well as being a devoted staff and team member of several building leadership positions such as a mentor for new teachers, and proudly serving on the Equity Leadership Team. Ms. Holmes’s jazz ensembles have participated in many prestigious festivals and honor bands and were recently invited to perform with Eric Marienthal and recognized as the evening honor band at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire Jazz Festival. The FHS Wind Ensemble has been invited to perform with the University of Minnesota University Band under the direction of Betsy McCann as well as the University of Northern Iowa Invitational Wind Band Festival. Most recently, they have been honored with an invitation to perform at the MMEA Midwinter Clinic in 2020.

In 2017, School Band and Orchestra Magazine named Holmes one of the nation’s “50 Directors Who Make a Difference.” When asked what is her proudest moment as an educator was? “My proudest moment as an educator has yet to come. Each day brings a new experience that challenges my mindset, intellect, and emotions on such a wide-ranging scale. Each year has also brought my own expertise to new levels. To try and define my pride of what we have created here in Farmington to one moment just isn’t possible.” Erin’s favorite phrase to live by and which she attempts to instill in her students is “every day is a good day to get better.”
Most notably, in 2018, she was appointed Jazz Chair for the Minnesota Music Educators Association (MMEA), she is the first woman in the organization’s history to be chosen for this position. She is the 2022 recipient of the Schmitt Music Educator of the Year award.

Erin is also active as a director for honor bands, a clinician for numerous band and jazz festivals, an adjudicator for large group contest, solo & ensemble contest, and teaches master classes for saxophones for jazz and classical saxophone in the Twin Cities metro and surrounding areas. Ms. Holmes loves to teach private lessons, has performed personally in several jazz ensembles such as Southern Minnesota’s REAL Big Band, Swing Sisterhood Big Band, and the Caprice Saxophone Quartet. She is a member of Minnesota Music Educators Association (MMEA), Minnesota Band Directors Association (MBDA), and Women Band Directors International (WBDI).

Ms. Holmes is originally from Faribault, MN. She attended high school at Bethlehem Academy and graduated Magna Cum Laude from Minnesota State University, Mankato with a degree in Music Education and an emphasis on saxophone. Her higher education was highlighted by unforgettable experiences including touring with concert bands as well as a trip to perform in Europe with the MSUM Saxophone Quartet. Ms. Holmes also attended Saint Mary’s University achieving her Master of Arts in Education with the honors of Summa Cum Laude. Erin and her husband, Jon reside in Farmington, Minnesota with their three sons, William, Henry, and Duke.

Adam Bever is a Rice Lake Middle School Band instructor and was recently given the 2024 Wisconsin Award for Excellence in Teaching Music by the Wisconsin Music Educators Association and the Wisconsin School Music Association .

His motivation for teaching

When asked how he understands his role as an educator and, specifically, a music educator, Adam replied, “I love helping the students create. The role I play so often is to synthesize the elements they learn in the classroom. They get to explore a side of their brains they don’t get to work with otherwise. They get a connection to a team. A connection to other students. Even beyond school, I love exposing students to music and helping them express themselves.”

Music is for ALL students

Like most music educators, many of his students use the discipline they learn in music to excel in other areas of their lives. But Adam also has a heart for the students who struggle in life and in school. 

He remembers a student who had terrible anger issues. The boy struggled to control himself in the classroom and had special needs. He decided to join the band. Adam thought, “Well, he’s going to have to figure this out.” 

Music was this student’s passion. The boy could articulate, “This is something I need! This is where I belong.” In the band room, he was a different kid. He was one of the first ones at the concerts, helping out. It even helped him learn to manage his anger in the other classrooms. 

Adam wonders if the student would even have finished school if it weren’t for his connection to music. 

How his relationship with the Arts Center impacts his students. 

Adam has a long history with the Arts Center. For those of you who go back a few years, he played with Bill Bitner, who taught music in Siren for many years. Adam has done the Big Band concerts, taught as a trombone assistant with Dave Pavolka, and studied with Dominic Spera at UW-Eau Claire.

Now he sends students to Jazz Camp, Jazz Combos, Concert Band, Trombone, and Sax camps. They also attend the Middle School Honors Event on a school day in November.

Adam commented, “Not only do they come back better musicians, they bring other students with them the next year. They form their own sectionals. It improves our program immediately.” 

Dr. Steven Riley is Director of Bands and Assistant Professor of Music at Northern Michigan University where he leads the Wind Ensemble and Symphonic Band, the NMU Wildcat Marching Band, the NMU Pep Band and teaches courses in ensemble pedagogy. 

Dr. Riley earned his bachelor’s degree from The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and his master’s and doctoral degree from The University of Iowa. Before his appointment at NMU, Dr. Riley served on the faculty at Arkansas State University for six years as Director of Athletic Bands and most recently as Interim Director of Bands. Previously, he served as Director of Bands at College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts as well as a high school band director in Illinois.

As an active guest conductor, drill designer, performance clinician, and adjudicator, ensembles led by Dr. Riley have been recognized for their performances at numerous nationally televised bowl games, NCAA basketball tournaments, and concert halls across the country. Over the last six years, Dr. Riley has helped commission numerous works as part of consortiums and was invited to lead the world premiere of a piece with the Arkansas State Wind Ensemble at the 2020 Southwestern CBDNA Conference. Dr. Riley has enjoyed numerous performance collaborations with several composers including Aaron Perrine, Derek Jenkins, Katahj Copley, Thomas Bough, and Randall Standridge.

He is also an active researcher with projects on composer collaborations, incorporating technology into band pedagogy and administration, drill writing, and wind band repertoire. Dr. Riley has been invited to present at numerous professional venues including the CBDNA Athletic Band Symposium and state music education association conferences in Massachusetts and Arkansas. In 2019, he had the privilege to serve as a band director for the 24th World Scout Jamboree in West Virginia where he led an ensemble comprised of musicians from over 25 countries. Publications featuring his work include the NBA Journal and The Instrumentalist.

Dr. Riley believes strongly in servant leadership. In addition to regular university service and collaboration with music educators, he was a state chair for the National Band Association and served as Vice President of the Arkansas College Band Directors Association. He also was the faculty advisor for both the Tau Beta Sigma and Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia chapters at Arkansas State University.  Dr. Riley is very proud of the relationships and communities he has helped build with band students across his career having been recognized in 2016 and 2022 with teaching awards from College of the Holy Cross and Arkansas State University respectively.

Dr. Riley loves spending time with his wife Rose and their two cats, Hope and Hermione. He enjoys cooking, is an avid Lego fan, loves going to the Iowa State Fair and visiting his family on Cape Cod in Massachusetts. He is excited and honored to be a part of the wonderful community of the NMU Music Department.