A Time For Joy

---

Colleen Schmitt grew up in a musical family in Milwaukee and has been playing piano since age five. She studied piano and voice, performed in bands (Sugar, Blood Orange), and held roles at Milwaukee Rep and Renaissance Theater. She’s music-directed shows like The Last Five Years, Little Shop of Horrors, and The Wizard of Oz, and led the hilarious Improvised Musical. A former church Music Pastor, she’s now Director of Contemporary Music at Hyde Park UMC in Tampa, FL, and teaches 28 piano students. Colleen has accompanied countless soloists and ensembles, composed dance music for ministry tours, and even helped premiere an opera. Whether she's conducting, composing, or cracking jokes, she brings heart and humor to everything she does. She’s delighted to be your emcee for the Florida Wind Band’s annual holiday concert!

Lindsey Jones has been an elementary music educator with Hillsborough County Public Schools since 2007, currently teaching at Hunter’s Green Elementary in New Tampa. She earned her Bachelor’s in Music Education with a vocal emphasis from Lee University and her Master’s in Music Education from the University of South Florida. At Hunter’s Green, Lindsey teaches general music to nearly 800 students and leads vibrant ensembles, including a modern band, chorus, and percussion groups. She has conducted the Hillsborough County Fine Arts Festival Elementary Chorus twice (2020 and 2024) and was named Hillsborough County’s Elementary Music Educator of the Year for 2019–2020. Lindsey also conducted the Pasco County All-County Elementary Chorus in 2023 and will return as guest conductor in 2026.

Outside of the classroom, Lindsey is an active performer and worship leader at Citylife Church, where she regularly leads worship at the Wesley Chapel campus. She also performs with the Tampa-based band Juan Love, bringing high-energy music to a variety of local venues. When she’s not teaching or performing, Lindsey is busy with her two sons, ages 12 and 14, who keep her on her toes with their travel sports. Lindsey is excited to be joining the Florida Wind Band for A Time for Joy and looks forward to performing Frank Ticheli's Angels in the Architecture as a featured soprano vocalist.

Tom Brantley has been a professor of trombone at the University of South Florida since 1999, where he teaches both Classical and Jazz trombone. Brantley leads the USF Jazz Ensemble I, Trombone Octet, Trombone Choir, and Bone Band I and II. He has toured, performed, and recorded with the internationally acclaimed chamber ensemble Rhythm and Brass since 1995, with performances across Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and Australia. As a soloist and with Rhythm and Brass, Brantley has recorded three CDs and published a chamber music book, Team Play. His solo recordings include Boneyard (Summit Records), and he has also released Confluences and Obsessed with Treasure.

In 2018, Brantley was nominated for a Grammy as a member of Chuck Owen’s Jazz Surge for the album Whispers on the Wind. His extensive recording credits also include work with the One O’Clock Lab Band at the University of North Texas and collaborations with fellow musicians such as Jack Wilkins. Brantley’s educational contributions include his trombone etude books, Essential Etudes for Trombone and Stylistic Etudes for Trombone, published by Carl Fischer, Inc. A Yamaha Performing Artist since 1995, Tom is thrilled to perform Julie Giroux’s arrangement of I’ll Be Home for Christmas with the Florida Wind Band.