Melinda McKenzie Hall, Director of Bands
Melinda McKenzie Hall, Conductor, has been Director of Bands
at W.T. Woodson since 2002 where her responsibilities include the Symphonic Band,
Concert Band, Beginning Band and the Marching Cavaliers. She received a Bachelor
of Science degree in Music Education from the University of Illinois, Champaign-
Urbana where she majored in Clarinet and Music Education. As an undergraduate,
she was accepted into the graduate conducting class where she studied conducting
under Dr. Harry Begian. After teaching high school band for four years at
Kankakee Valley H.S. in Wheatfield, Indiana she received a Master of Arts in
Conducting and Wind Literature from the University of Iowa where her
responsibilities also included teaching undergraduate conducting classes and
supervising student teachers. While in the program at Iowa, she started the
University of Iowa Clarinet Ensemble and conducted one of the University Bands.
In 1988, she became the Director of Bands at Gar-Field Senior High School in
Woodbridge. While at Gar-Field, the Symphonic band was selected to perform at
the MENC Southern Division conference in Savannah, GA in 1993, and the Virginia
Music Educator’s Association conference in 1994. In the summer of 1992, she was
awarded a fellowship for graduate study at Northwestern University. In 1999,
she became assistant band director at Lake Braddock Secondary in Burke, VA until
2001 when she took her current position as the Director of Bands at W.T. Woodson
High School in Fairfax, VA. Mrs. McKenzie Hall was awarded the “Citation of
Excellence” from the National Band Association in 2009. She served on the VBODA
Executive Board in the office of Secretary for eight years and her professional
affiliations include the National Band Association, MENC, VMEA, VBODA, IAJE, Pi
Kappa Lamda and Phi Beta Mu. In 2010 Ms Hall was awarded the Bandworld
"Legion of Honor" by The John Philip Sousa Foundation.
As a diversion from her busy band life, Mrs. McKenzie Hall is active as a
volunteer for the Northern Virginia Sheltie Rescue where she has transported,
fostered and found homes for over 45 homeless Shelties. She also enjoys entering
in Dressage competition with her 7 year old German Oldenburg horse, Corigliano.
Charles "Chip" Bubeck, Jazz Ensemble Director
Charles Bubeck has been performing and recording with
his own jazz group since 1989. The group has performed up and down the
East coast in such settings as the Zeitgeist Gallery in Boston, Harry’s
in Rochester NewYork, Twin’s Jazz in Washington DC, and The Ice House Café
in Herndon, Virginia. Charles Bubeck’s recordings have all met with critical
success and enjoyed featured radio play throughout the United States and Europe.
Charles has a Master’s Degree in Jazz Studies from New England Conservatory
where he studied Composition and improvisation with Jimmy Guiffre, John McNeil,
George Garzone and George Russell. Charles has also studied with Gordon Stout,
Bill Molenhof and Steve Brown.
Charles continues to keep busy as an educator and clinician. As an active
member of both the Percussive Arts Society and the International Association
of Jazz Educators, Charles has presented numerous clinics and workshops on
jazz improvisation and vibraphone technique at James Madison University,
Boston University, George Mason University and numerous secondary schools.
Charles has been the Director of the W.T. Woodson High School Jazz Ensemble
since 1999 and continues to teach private music lessons out of his music studio.
Eric McWilliams, Guard Instructor
Eric McWilliams has been involved in the marching band and
color guard activity as a performer, designer, consultant and judge for nearly
twenty years. He has performed with the Crossmen Drum and Bugle Corps,
formerly of West Chester, PA and with the Chesapeake Cavaliers Winter Guard from
Baltimore, MD. He has designed for and consulted extensively with various
marching bands and color guards throughout Virginia, Kentucky, North Carolina
and Maryland. Some of the groups he has designed and consulted with include:
Mills Godwin, Richmond, VA; Westfield, Fairfax, VA; and Shelby County,
Shelbyville, KY. He also was the director of the McLean High winter guard,
Fairfax, VA, who held various local and regional championship titles and was a
perennial semi – finalist at the WGI World Championships, and consulted with the
Elizabethtown high school guard, Elizabethtown, KY., former BOA Grand National
A Class Champion. Now in his eleventh year with the Woodson band program, under
Eric’s direction, the Woodson guard has grown to be one of the top guards in the
state of Virginia who hold various local and regional titles in the Atlantic
Indoor Association. Eric currently lives in Washington, DC and is a Supervisory
Paralegal at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.