Dr. Bradley P. Ethington
Director of Bands, Professor of Music Setnor School of Music, Syracuse University
Dr. Bradley P. Ethington is Director of Bands and Professor of Music at Syracuse University where he conducts the University Wind Ensemble, coordinates the graduate program in wind conducting, and serves as chair of wind and percussion studies. Dr. Ethington holds bachelor’s degrees in Music Education and Biochemistry from the Honors College at Michigan State University, the Master of Music from Baylor University, and the Doctor of Musical Arts in Conducting from The University of Texas at Austin. While at the University of Texas, he served as assistant conductor of the University Wind Ensemble and conductor of the University Chamber Orchestra.
Dr. Ethington has published articles in the journals of the College Band Directors National Association and the World Association of Symphonic Bands and Ensembles on the wind music of W. A. Mozart and Charles Ives, and has been a regular contributor to the highly successful educational series Teaching Music Through Performance in Band. Dr. Ethington is an elected member of the American Bandmasters Association, and Past President of the Big East Conference Band Directors Association. He has appeared as guest conductor at conferences of the College Band Directors National Association, the World Association of Symphonic Bands and Ensembles, and the New York State School Music Association, and has served as guest conductor, clinician, and adjudicator throughout the United States, Western Europe and Australia.
Richard F. Regan
Director of Bands, Monroe - Woodbury High School. Musical Director and Principal Conductor, NYWS
Music Director and Principal Conductor of The New York Wind Symphony, Richard F. Regan has also served as the orchestra director of the Sugar Loaf Performing Arts Center Orchestra and as The Greater Newburgh Symphony Pops Orchestra conductor where he began a full-scale survey of America’s Symphonic Masterworks. He maintains a strong connection with the youth of our region through his work with the Hudson Valley Honors Youth Band Program and as conductor of the award winning Wind Ensemble at Monroe-Woodbury High School in Central Valley, New York. He is in demand as a guest conductor of bands and orchestras throughout the country and has led performances in Beijing, Prague and France. Most recently, he conducted the New York Wind Symphony to a packed and enthusiastic audience in the Isaac Stern Auditorium at the prestigious Carnegie Hall in New York City.
Mr. Regan’s tenure with the New York Wind Symphony has led to many important premieres including the North American Premiere of Johan de Meij’s Symphony No. 4, the World Premiere of Bramwell Tovey’s Lincoln Tunnel Cabaret for Solo Trombone and Wind Orchestra, and the World Premiere of the newly revised Universe at an Exhibition where the NYWS provided the live soundtrack to the film created by Emmy nominated director and astronomer, Dr. José Francisco Salgado. Regan has collaborated with members of the New York Philharmonic on several concerto projects with the wind symphony, including Phil Meyers on Richard Strauss’s Horn Concerto No. 1, Joseph Alessi on both John Mackey’s Harvest and Bramwell Tovey’s Lincoln Tunnel Cabaret, and Mark Nuccio on Aaron Copland’s Concerto for Clarinet. He recently conducted the New York Wind Symphony as part of the International Trombone Association’s convention at The Julliard School, where they accompanied some of the world’s greatest orchestral musicians.
Highly regarded as a music educator, Richard F. Regan is a multiple winner of the William D. Revelli Award, a recipient of the Helen M. Hosmer Excellence in Music Teaching Award, and was an Arts in Education Honoree at the Orange County Arts Council Awards Gala.
Ryan Walther
Band Director, Monroe - Woodbury Middle School
Ryan Walther is currently serving his 9th year as a band director at the Monroe – Woodbury Middle School (Central Valley, NY) where he has directed the 6th, 7th, and 8th grade Concert Bands, Symphonic Band, and the Wind Ensemble. Recently, the Middle School Wind Ensemble has commissioned a new work for band, “Emory's Barcarolle” by Joel Puckett. He has previously worked in the William Floyd Union Free School District, and has also served as Education Director with the Orange County Music Educators Association. He is currently the band director of the Hudson Valley Honors Concert Band.
Aside from working as a band director, Ryan Walther is also an active performer. He currently serves as the Principal Horn of the Greater Newburgh Symphony Orchestra as well as Principal Horn of the New York Wind Symphony. He has previously served as Principal Horn of the Northern Dutchess Symphony Orchestra. In the Hudson Valley region, Mr. Walther has performed with many other musical ensembles which include; West Point Band, Hudson Valley Philharmonic, Pone Ensemble, and the Esopus Chamber Orchestra. As a soloist, he has been featured with the Woodstock Chamber Orchestra. He has also performed for numerous recordings. Most recently, he was a featured soloist on the recording “The Valley Sings” under the MSR label.
Ryan Walther earned his Master's Degree in Music Education at the Crane School of Music at SUNY Potsdam. While studying, he served as a graduate teaching assistant to Dr. Peter McCoy. During his time at SUNY Potsdam, Mr. Walther was the band director at St. Mary's Elementary School in Canton, NY. He also earned his Bachelor's Degree in Music Performance at the Manhattan School of Music, where he was a member of Jerome Ashby's studio. During his time there, he worked for the Manhattan School of Music Preparatory Division as well as the Inter School Youth Orchestras.
Christopher Taborsky
Band Director, Monroe - Woodbury Middle School
Christopher Taborsky is the District Music Coordinator at the Monroe-Woodbury Central School District. Previously, Mr. Taborsky was band director at Monroe-Woodbury Middle School where he conducted the Symphonic Band, Sixth-Grade Band, Seventh/Eighth Grade Concert Band, and Jazz Ensemble. Prior to his arriving at the Middle School he was band director at Pine Tree Elementary School, a position that he had held since 2005. During his tenure at Pine Tree his Fifth-Grade Band earned several Gold with Distinction ratings at the NYSSMA Major Organization Festivals. Mr. Taborsky received his Bachelor of Music from SUNY at Fredonia, graduating summa cum laude, and his Master of Music from the Hartt School at the University of Hartford.
Christopher is published in the journal Update: Applications of Research in Music Education—and he has presented on the topic of musical performance anxiety at the National Association for Music Education's “Music Education Week” in Washington, D.C. He is a 2013 recipient of the National Endowment for the Humanities grant. Christopher is an active member of the Orange County Music Educators’ Association and an active trumpet player in the Hudson Valley.
