Dr. Mary Land is Associate Professor of Music and Director of Instrumental Music Education at Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo, Michigan. She conducts the University Concert Band and teaches courses in instrumental music education. Prior to this appointment, she was Director of Bands and Instrumental Music Education at Young Harris College in Young Harris, Georgia. Before moving to higher education, Dr. Land was a public-school band director in Georgia for over twenty-nine years where she developed an outstanding band program in Pickens County, Georgia. Bands under Dr. Land’s direction have received invitations to perform at many music conferences and clinics.

Dr. Land earned her Educational Doctorate from the University of Georgia, her Master of Music Education from VanderCook College of Music in Chicago, Illinois, and her Bachelor of Music Education from the University of Georgia. She has served as the president of the Georgia Music Educators Association and the state of Georgia’s CNAfME chair. In Michigan, Dr. Land has served as the National Band Association state chair and the Michigan Music Education Association’s CNAfME chair. Dr. Land serves on the Board of Directors for the Midwest International Band and Orchestra Clinic and is a member of the Zeta Chapter of Phi Beta Mu International Bandmasters Fraternity. Dr. Land is also on the faculty of the prestigious Interlochen Arts Camp as the conductor of the Intermediate Wind Symphony.

Dr. Land is an active adjudicator, conductor, and clinician throughout the United States and serves as a clinician for the Conn Selmer Division of Education. Her professional affiliations include: MSBOA, NAfME, IAJE, CBDNA, the Pi Kappa Lambda American Honor Society (for students and professors of music), and the Delta Kappa Gamma Society International Professional Teacher Association. Dr. Land is also a member of the National Band Association (NBA) and has served as a national representative on the NBA Executive Board of Directors.

Many professional awards and recognitions have been presented to Dr. Land during her career. She was recently presented with The Distinguished Alumni Award from the VanderCook College of Music. Dr. Land has been featured in many issues of The Instrumentalist magazine discussing her teaching techniques, her band program in the public schools, and her band program at Young Harris College. She has been presented the National Band Association Citation of Excellence on twelve occasions and presented the Women Band Directors International Scroll of Excellence five times. Dr. Land was awarded the GMEA Music Educator of the Year Award in 2012 and was presented with the John Philip Sousa Foundation Legion of Honor Award at the 2012 Midwest Band and Orchestra Clinic for her contributions to music education. She was selected by the national publication School Band & Orchestra in their December 2013 issue as one of “50 Directors Who Make a Difference.” Dr. Land’s band program at Pickens County Middle School (PCMS) was the recipient of the Georgia Senate Resolution 212 commending its success. Additionally, under her direction, the PCMS Band was the recipient of the Magna Cum Laude Award, a prestigious international award for middle school bands.

Dr. Land is published in the National Band Association Journal, The Instrumentalist, Teaching Music (NAfME), the School Band and Orchestra magazine, and the GIA series Teaching Music Through Performance in Band. She is author of The Value of Music Connections and co-author for Habits of a Successful Music Education Student. Her commissioned projects include works by Sam Hazo, Bill Locklear, Barry Kopetz, and Christopher Tucker.