Biography
Dr. Margaret Underwood is Director of Bands and Assistant Professor of Music at Western
Carolina University where she conducts the Wind Ensemble, guides all aspects of the
wind bands, and teaches courses in music education. Dr. Underwood maintains an active
guest conducting schedule, conducting performances across the United States. Ensembles
under her direction have performed at state and international conferences and she
has conducted at the College Band Directors National Association Northcentral Regional
Conference. In addition to her presentations at numerous state conferences, she has
also presented her research at the College Band Directors National Association Regional
and National Conferences, the World Association of Symphonic Bands and Ensembles International
Conference, the US Navy Band International Saxophone Symposium, and the International
Society for Research and Promotion of Wind Music. Her research on Robert Kurka鈥檚 <i>The
Good Soldier Schweik Suite</i> is published in <i>The Journal of World Association
of Band and Symphonic Ensembles</i>. <br> <br>Prior to her current appointment she
served as Director of Bands and Associate Professor of Music at Otterbein University
in Westerville, Ohio. Previously, she served as the Assistant Director of Bands at
Mansfield University in Pennsylvania and taught middle and high school band for several
years in New York.<br> <br>An advocate for new music, her ensembles have commissioned
works by composers such as Julia Wolfe, James Stephenson, and Dan Welcher, as well
as premiering works by Paul Osterfield, Jenny Merkowitz, Andrew Hannon, and a recently
discovered work by Russian composer Alexander Alyabyev.
Teaching Interests
Wind Ensemble<br>Conducting<br>Music Education
Research Interests
<i>The Good Soldier Schweik Suite</i> by Robert Kurka<br>Chamber wind societies<br>US
military bands
