Dr. William Dabback holds degrees in music education from West Chester University (B.S., summa cum laude, 1991) and the University of Rochester’s Eastman School of Music (M.M., 2000, Ph.D. 2007). Dr. Dabback has supervised student teachers and taught graduate research and foundations courses, instrumental methods courses, brass techniques, and conducting in the James Madison University School of Music since 2005. His collegiate teaching experience also includes dissertation advisement for Boston University and courses at Eastman and the Rochester Institute of Technology. Prior to commencing his doctoral studies, Dr. Dabback was music director at Towanda Area High School in Pennsylvania (1991-2003).

Dr. Dabback has presented papers and workshops on adult music learning, community music, instrumental music pedagogy, and music teacher preparation at international symposia and conferences in the United States, Canada, and Europe. He has contributed chapters to the Oxford Handbook of Music Education and Community Music Today and is published in various academic journals, including the International Journal of Community Music and ACT (Action, Criticism, and Theory for Music Education). He serves as the 2012-2014 national chair of the NAfME Adult & Community Music Education Special Research Interest Group (ACME SRIG).

Dr. Dabback remains active as a conductor, clinician, and adjudicator for middle and high school students in the eastern United States. He formed the Harrisonburg New Horizons Band in conjunction with the James Madison University Lifelong Learning Institute and has instructed various New Horizons music camps. He continues to freelance on trumpet and perform as a cornet player in the Massanutten Brass, a British-style brass band in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. He is a member of the International Society of Music Education, The National Association for Music Education (NAfME), The College Music Society, MayDay Group, Pi Kappa Lambda, and Phi Mu Alpha.