Episode 49

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Published on:

15th Oct 2024

1.49 - Erin Keeton-Howard

Erin Keeton-Howard is a Seattle-based educator, conductor, and composer. Community music, and the formation of community through making music, is at the heart of her research interests, educational philosophy, and personal passion. Erin is delighted to engage in this adventure through her work as a guest conductor/composer/clinician and through her recently released book: “Women in Wind Band” published in December 2023 by GIA Publications, Inc. This text is written from the experience of women to foster a more authentic and inclusive future for everyone in the field.

Serving as Director of Upper School Bands at The Northwest School, Erin is currently in her 16th year of teaching. She is a multi-year nominee ​for Teacher of the Year and has been awarded the Sigma Alpha Iota Leadership Award. In 2020 her wind ensemble at Inglewood Middle School was selected to perform at the National Association for Music Education Northwest Region conference. While teaching, Erin maintains an active role in community music. She is a director and founder of Formation Wind Band, Seattle’s all-women wind ensemble. Formation has the honor of performing at the upcoming 2024 Washington Music Educators Association conference. Previous community music involvement includes directing the North Seattle Symphonic Band and Modern Jazz Ensemble at North Seattle College, serving on the artistic staff of Rainbow City Performing Arts, and co-founding the Give Back Brass Band. 

 Erin discovered composing during the pandemic. She enjoys writing music for all levels but is particularly passionate about writing quality music for student musicians to nurture developing skills and specific idiosyncrasies for each instrument. Erin is actively commissioned to write music for ensembles all over the country. Her works include compositions for concert, jazz, pep, and brass bands as well as various chamber ensembles. Erin’s music is published with Murphy Music Press, Carl Fischer, and Randall Standridge Music Publications. To view her catalog, click HERE.

 

Erin graduated cum laude from the University of Missouri (B.S. in music education) and the University of Washington (M.A. in music education, emphasis instrumental conducting). She has studied conducting with Tim Salzman, Dr. Mallory Thompson, Dr. Chris Bianco, Dr. Tony Maiello, Dr. Emily Moss, and Dr. Steven Davis. Erin is a member of the National Association for Music Education, National Band Association, World Association for Symphonic Bands and Ensembles. Washington Music Educators Association, and Sigma Alpha Iota International Women’s Music Fraternity. 

In addition to her musical pursuits, Erin is passionate about travel, cooking, the PNW coast, and sudoku. Erin resides in Mountlake Terrace, WA with her wife Felicia.

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About the Podcast

Composer Chats
Composer Chat is a podcast where we talk a little bit about music, a little bit about life, and a whole lot about whatever we feel like at the moment! Each episode I am joined by a special guest composer and we will chat about their pathway towards success in their musical career!

About your host

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Jason Nitsch

Jason Nitsch’s music is equally at home on the concert stage, in outdoor venues, and streaming online, reaching the broadest audience of musicians, performers, and music enthusiasts possible. As a composer dedicated to the exploration of new ideas, his music has evolved over a 25-year career to incorporate more and more non-traditional elements, such as effect tracks, sound drops, and enveloping electroacoustic works combining live and pre-recorded elements. Much of his work is rooted in a large ensemble context; his wind ensemble works have received thousands of performances throughout the US including at Midwest, State Music Conferences including Texas, Colorado, and Kentucky Music Educators Associations, Colleges and Universities like Baylor University, the University of North Texas, and Syracuse University, and at other regional music festivals (ITEA).

In recent years Jason has focused on more intimate chamber musical settings, including collaborations with solo musicians such as trumpeter Kate Amrine , Cellist Carolyn Regula (The Cello Doll) and vocalist Michaela Catapano, as well as chamber groups across the US (Chicago Brass Choir), while continuing expand his sizable catalog of works for larger instrumental forces.

Jason is well known for his work as an educator, dedicated to providing young promising musicians with the foundational experiences on which a lifetime of music-making can be built, and is pursuing research into the ways that music students process their experiences as learners and performers.

Combining his long career in music with a deep love of science fiction and a natural talent for storytelling, Jason recently launched his first podcast, “Beyond the Belt: Adventures from the Outer Rim.” “Beyond the Belt” is a collection of 8 original dramatic science fiction episodes for which he served as writer, producer, and composer. It tells the story of a scientific research experiment gone horribly wrong. With Zombies (of course!).

Jason has released three digital albums in recent years, including the Season One Soundtrack from the Beyond the Belt podcast, “1000 Steps to Nowhere", a collection of chamber music compositions, and most recently “The Dead Teach the Living,” featuring nine vocal collaborations ranging from solo works to Orchestral compositions.

Jason is a lover of dogs, video games, and all things Star Wars (yes, even the prequels). He is also a husband, father of two budding musicians, and a patron of art forms that stretch traditional boundaries.

He currently lives in Waxhachie, TX with his family. He can occasionally be sighted lurking at select music conferences.