Brian Lamb, D.M.A.

Brian Lamb has served as Director of Bands in the UCO School of Music since 2001. During this time period, the Wind Symphony has performed for two College Band Director National Association (CBDNA) conventions, and they have given five Honor Band performances at the Oklahoma Music Educators Association Annual Convention.  They have released five CDs on the prestigious Equilibrium label, available on all major streaming services, including Spotify, Apple Music, CDBaby, Amazon, and others.  Dr. Lamb has spearheaded several collaborations and festivals on the UCO Campus over the years, including residencies by David Maslanka, Pulitzer Prize Winning Michael Colgrass, Grammy winner Michael Daugherty, Susan Botti, and Carter Pann.

Dr. Lamb made his Carnegie Hall debut in May, 2005, performing with UCO friend and colleague Tess Remy-Schumacher in the Weill Recital Hall. In March, 2006, Lamb and the UCO Wind Symphony performed for a full house in the Isaac Stern Auditorium at Carnegie Hall. The UCO Wind Symphony, with Lamb as conductor, has garnered national attention and acclaim from audiences, composers, and critics alike for outstanding and creative performances and for playing an active role in commissioning projects and consortiums, including work with David Maslanka, Carolyn Bremer, Richard Danielpour, Michael Daugherty, Michael Colgrass, Samuel Magrill, and the National Wind Ensemble Consortium Group.

Lamb received the bachelor's degree in music education from Baylor University, a master's degree in trumpet performance and literature from the University of Notre Dame, and a doctor of musical arts degree in conducting from the University of North Texas. He has been fortunate to study with many outstanding musical mentors, including Eugene Corporon, Michael Haithcock, Gary Sousa, Larry Rachleff, Alan McMurray, Jack Stamp, Dennis Fisher, John Haynie  Barry Hopper, and William Scarlett. Prior to his UCO appointment, Dr. Lamb served as director of Instrumental Studies at Southwest Baptist University and as director of bands and chairman of the Fine Arts Department at James Bowie High School in Arlington, Texas.

Still active as a trumpet performer, Dr. Lamb currently plays in the UCO Faculty Brass Quintet. Having taught in Texas, Missouri, Indiana and now Oklahoma, Dr. Lamb is very active as a clinician and guest conductor all over the country, and his groups have received acclaim for performances at regional, state and national conventions. He has conducted bands in Europe and Asia, recently returning from artistic and educational presentations at the Xinghai Conservatory of Music and South China Normal University in Guangzhou, China. He has contributed several published works to various journals and textbooks, and he is the author of ""Music is Magic,"" a children's radio program that aired on KCSC-90.1 FM. He is a member of Pi Kappa Lambda Music Honor Society, the College Band Directors National Association, Oklahoma Music Educators Association, Oklahoma Bandmasters Association, Music Educators National Conference, and Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia.  He was recently honored as a Friend of the Arts by Sigma Alpha Iota, and as the faculty sponsor for UCO’s Kappa Kappa Psi chapter, he was initiated as an honorary member of the national band service fraternity.  Lamb currently serves as the Vice President of Higher Education on the Oklahoma Music Educators Association Executive Board.

What is the most satisfying or rewarding moment of your artistic/creative process?
I love score study, which involves taking a piece apart and discovering all of the nuances that the composer used to shape every musical element in a piece.  But then, I really love the rehearsal process, and putting the piece together with the performers, so that they also discover all of those musical nuances in the piece, and they can help bring it to life for the audience--just the way the composer intended the audience to experience it.  That is pure magic.

Who has most influenced you and why?
I have been blessed with some incredible mentors:  My trumpet teachers, John Haynie and Barry Hopper and Will Scarlett, taught me to practice hard, prepare intently, and play with expression.  My conducting teachers, Mike Haithcock and Eugene Corporon, taught me the importance of score study, rehearsal preparation, sincerity and humility. My friend, Carol Allen, taught me how to teach and how to love young musicians.  And Keith White taught me how to be a better colleague and a team player.

Name a play, production, film, recording, book or composition that has influenced you and that you would recommend to others.
"Films: ""Dead Poet's Society"" and ""Mr. Holland's Opus"" (because my biggest goal as a teacher is to connect with students on a meaningful and soulful level)
Books:  Ed Bain: ""What the Best College Teachers Do"" and Frederick Buechner:  ""Whistling in the Dark"" (because to make those connections, I needed coaching and encouragement and change)
Compositions:  Michael Colgrass:  ""Winds of Nagual,"" David Maslanka: ""Symphony No. 4,"" and Johannes Brahms:  ""Intermezzo in A, Op. 118, No. 2"" (because the first time I heard these works, there was an immediate self-forgetting at-oneness with the music... and my soul was changed)
Recordings:  Joni Mitchell's ""Both Sides Now"" (because the arrangements are spectacular, the musicians are outstanding, and it carries me away when I listen... and it never gets old or boring)
James Taylor: ""Hourglass"" (because this was my dog Luke's favorite album to listen to as we would sit together and watch the Oklahoma sunsets)"

What is something unexpected about you?
My favorite person and best friend in the whole world is my wife, Denise, and together we have a large family, with 5 children who are all grown up now, but I love every moment we are together.

Wind Symphony Recordings:

https://www.equilibri.com/album/EQ118/?sort=&asc_desc=ASC&resultpage=

Kindred Spirits: Music of Dello Joio, Maslanka, Pann, and Stravinsky

Colgrass Horizons: The Music of Michael Colgrass

American Byways: The Music of Michael Daugherty

Oklahoma Bandscapes: The Wind Works of Samuel Magrill

A Legacy Rediscovered:  Music of Ernest S. Williams

Dr. Lamb has published several chapters in the GIA "Teaching Music Through Performance in Band" series of textbooks.

• Wind Symphony, Conductor
• Conducting
• Graduate Wind History, Literature, and Repertoire
• Instrumental Music Education Methods and Techniques