Music Director
Dr. Matthew McCutchen has served on the University of South Florida’s music faculty since 2009, first as the Director of Athletic Bands for nine years and then as the Director of Bands since 2018. His responsibilities at USF include conducting the Wind Ensemble, teaching graduate and undergraduate courses in Conducting, Wind Band Literature, and Music Education, and serving as the Assistant Director of the School of Music.
McCutchen earned a Ph.D. in Music Education with an emphasis in Instrumental Conducting from Florida State University, a Master of Music degree in Conducting from Virginia Commonwealth University, and a Bachelor of Music Education degree from Furman University. Before coming to USF, he taught middle school in Georgia, high school in Virginia, and served as an adjunct instructor at Virginia Commonwealth University for several semesters.
McCutchen is active as a guest conductor and clinician. He is the Artistic Director and Conductor of the Florida Wind Band and the Founder and Conductor of the Bay Area Youth (BAY) Winds, which features many of the finest high school musicians throughout the Tampa Area. He has been published in the National Band Association’s Journal, the 7th and 8th editions, and the “Solos with Wind Band Accompaniment” editions of the Teaching Music Through Performance in Band series, The Instrumentalist, VMEA Notes, and The Florida Music Director. He is the Chair of the National Band Association’s William D. Revelli Memorial Band Composition Contest Committee, is a member of the John Philip Sousa Foundation Legion of Honor Selection Committee, and holds memberships in numerous national and statewide professional organizations. In 2022 he was elected to the prestigious American Bandmasters Association.
Conductor Emeritus
Dr. John C. Carmichael’s teaching and conducting career spans 44 years leading to his retirement from the University of South Florida in 2018 where he was Director of Bands. The USF Wind Ensemble under his direction, was distinguished by performances at two CBDNA Regional Conferences, the National Convention of the American Bandmasters Association, and a premiere performance at Carnegie Hall. At
USF, Dr. Carmichael was involved in the commissioning of numerous new compositions for wind band and gave the world premieres of at least four of those works, including one in Carnegie Hall. Prior to USF, he served as director of bands at Furman University and Western Kentucky University. His high school bands were renowned, and the Lakeland High School Band was considered to be one of the strongest programs in the country.
He graduated from Florida State University with a Ph.D. in Music Education and Conducting in 1994. His dissertation on the 1926 Donaueschingen Festival band music has been widely cited by other researchers and authors. He has served as an officer and board member for the College Band Directors National Association and the National Band Association. The American Bandmasters Association elected Dr. Carmichael to membership in 2001, one of the highest honors available for band directors in the United States. He is in demand as a conductor, and clinician throughout
the United States. Dr. Carmichael founded the Florida Wind Band in Tampa in 2007 which he conducted for 11 years.
In 2021, Dr. Carmichael founded Pinnacle Winds, his second group with the mission of becoming the first full-time, civilian, professional concert band in America this century. His efforts have been praised by important wind conductors from both the university and military arenas. In addition to his musical endeavors, Dr. Carmichael has been highly involved in South Kansas City non-profit organizations. Presently, he is treasurer for the South Kansas City Alliance, secretary for the Hickman Mills Educational Foundation, and Chairman of the Community Assistance Council. He serves as director of the St. Peter and All- Saints Episcopal Church Choir.