STEPHEN BOLSTAD, Professor; Director of Bands
Stephen P. Bolstad has served as Director of Bands and Professor of Wind Conducting at James Madison University since Fall 2007. In addition to overseeing the university’s comprehensive band program, his specific duties include conducting the JMU Wind Symphony and Symphonic Band, teaching courses in wind literature, and running the Masters and Doctoral program in Wind Conducting. Under Dr. Bolstad’s direction, the JMU Wind Symphony recently received accolades from composer David Maslanka for the ensemble’s consortium premiere of his Symphony No. 8.
From 1994-2007, Dr. Bolstad was the Director of Bands at The University of Montana. Under his direction the Symphonic Wind Ensemble was selected to perform at the College Band Directors National Association’s Northwest/Western Divisional Conference in 1996 and 2006, and the MENC Northwest Conference in 2001 (Spokane, WA) and 2005 (Bellevue, WA). In 2004 Dr. Bolstad was named the University of Montana School of Fine Arts Distinguished Faculty Awardee. Prior to Montana, Dr. Bolstad held similar positions in Alabama at both The University of Montevallo and Livingston University, and he was the Director of Bands at St. Marys Area High School in St. Marys, Pennsylvania.
Steve Bolstad holds the Doctor of Music Arts degree in Conducting from The University of Texas at Austin, the Master of Music degree from Ithaca College in Ithaca, New York, and a Bachelor of Science in Music Education from Clarion University of Pennsylvania. He has studied conducting with Jerry Junkin (Texas), Rodney Winther (Ithaca), and Stanley Michalski (Clarion).
Dr. Bolstad is very active as a guest conductor having conducted district, regional and all-state festivals throughout the United States and Canada. In addition, he has conducted bands at summer events such as MusiCamp Alberta and Red Lodge Music Festival. He also maintains a very active schedule as an adjudicator and clinician. Dr. Bolstad is a Past-President of the Montana Bandmasters Association and is currently the state president of the Virginia Chapter of the College Band Directors National Association. Dr. Bolstad is a member of VMEA, MENC, CBDNA and the World Association of Symphonic Bands and Ensembles.
Office: 540.568.6035
Email: bolstasp@jmu.edu
Visit the Wind Symphony Web Page
CHARLES DOTAS, Associate Professor; Conductor of the JMU Jazz Ensemble
B.M., University of Wisconsin at Green Bay; M.M., Eastman School of Music; D.A., University of Northern Colorado. He comes to JMU from Montreal, Quebec, where he was professor of jazz studies at McGill University. He also taught in the Wisconsin public schools for six years. He studied composition and jazz arranging with Ray Wright, Manny Albam, Bill Dobbins, Fred Sturm and Samuel Adler. His music has been performed in Germany, New Zealand, South Africa, Canada and throughout the United States by artists such as Clark Terry, Slide Hampton, Phil Woods and Steve Kuhn. His music is published through UNC Jazz Press and Margun Music.
Office: 540.568.6180
Email: dotascj@jmu.edu
Dr. Robert McCashin is currently the Director of Orchestras and Professor of Conducting at James Madison University where he serves as Music Director/Conductor for the JMU Symphony, the JMU Chamber Orchestra, the JMU Opera/Theater Orchestra. In addition, Dr. McCashin teaches orchestral conducting at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. Prior to his position at James Madison, Dr. McCashin was Director of Orchestral Studies and Professor of Violin at the University of Texas at Arlington, and preceding that, at Texas Wesleyan University. During his tenure in Texas he performed with the Fort Worth Symphony, Fort Worth Opera Orchestra, Wichita Falls Symphony, Gallery String Quartet, and the University Piano Trio, and performed extensively as a free-lance violinist throughout the North Texas region. He was the founder and Conductor of the Arlington Youth Symphony, and conductor for the Trinity Symphony and the Arlington Opera Association. In addition, he was Associate Conductor of the Youth Orchestras of Greater Fort Worth, and maintained a substantial private violin studio of students at all levels.
Tom McKenzie, trombone, directs the JMU Jazz Band and coaches student jazz combos. He graduated with a Bachelor of Music Education from JMU. After college, he spent four years in the United States Air Force band, with assignments in Shreveport, Louisiana and Kaiserslautern, Germany, before returning to the Shenandoah Valley.
William G. Posey received his Bachelor of Music Degree from James Madison University, where he served as drill instructor and drum major. Mr. Posey was a clinician for United Music Enterprises, teaching drill, music, drum majors, marching and maneuvering, and leadership classes all across the United States and Canada. He has also served as clinician for Bands of America in both the U.S. and Great Britain. While in England, Mr. Posey served as a marching instructor for one of the top British drum and bugle corps.
A native of North Carolina, Dr. Rierson received his undergraduate degree from UNC-Chapel Hill, and an MM in Opera Production and Ph.D. from the Florida State University. He has directed and served on professional production teams at The Florida State Opera, The Spoleto Festival, The Ash Lawn Summer Festival, Central City Opera and Indianapolis Opera. As Director of Opera and Music Theater at The University of Northern Iowa, he received state recognition for his 1997 production of Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro as well as acclaim for the 2001 production of The Magic Flute, the inaugural main stage production for the Gallagher-Bluedorn Performing Arts Center. The same year, he received the Jean S. Schwartz Memorial Endowment to begin a Music Theater training program for the Gallagher Center and establish a regional company to serve the University and the Cedar Valley.
Scott Rikkers is the Director of the Marching Royal Dukes, and the Assistant Director of the School of Music at James Madison University. A native of Kalamazoo, Michigan, he received his Bachelor of Music Education from Western Michigan University and Masters of Music in Education from James Madison University. Prior to his appointment at JMU, Mr. Rikkers was the Director of Athletic Bands at The University of Montana where he coordinated the athletic band program as well as conducted the University Concert Band and assisted with the Music Education curriculum. He has held an assistantship with the James Madison University band program prior to which he taught k-12 music in Michigan, holding positions in General Music and Middle/High School band.
B.M.E., University of Southern Mississippi; M.M.E., North Texas State University; D.M.A., The Catholic University of America. Rooney is in his 20th year as director of bands at JMU. He has served as the director of the All-American College Band at Walt Disney World and at Disneyland. He served on the committee for the ceremonies of the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles and served as one of the directors of the All-American College Band for the Presidential Inaugural in 1985. He is an active clinician, adjudicator and has served as guest conductor for numerous All-State and honor bands throughout the country. In 1997, the JMU Alumni Association selected him as the distinguished teacher of the year. He was the recipient of the Distinguished Service Award by the Greater Madison Society and in 2000 was selected as one of the Virginia University Outstanding Faculty Members by the Virginia Secondary Council of Higher Education. 
A native of Buffalo, New York, Patrick Walders maintains an active career as a professional vocalist, music educator, church musician, clinician, and conductor. As Director of Choral Activities at James Madison University, he directs the highly select JMU Chorale (70 voices) and Madison Singers (25 voices), oversees the Men’s Chorus, Women’s Chorus and Treble Chamber Choir, teaches undergraduate and graduate conducting classes, and graduate Choral Literature. As President-Elect of the Virginia American Choral Director’s Association, he is especially proud of the strong ACDA student chapter at JMU where they host an annual High School Choralfest (September) and Men’s Chorus Invitational (January), which bring upwards of 450 High School students to campus every year who sit side-by-side collegiate members of the JMU choirs. For four seasons, he was the Associate Conductor of the National Philharmonic Chorale, and Artistic Director of the National Philharmonic Singers- the chamber choir formed from the nucleus of the Chorale which is based in the state-of-the-art Performing Arts Center at Strathmore located just outside of Washington, D.C. He made his National Philharmonic debut in December 2006, conducting Handel’s Messiah, and his Kennedy Center debut conducting John Hilliard’s Piano Concerto No.2, in January of 2007. 