Gary Stith

Associate Professor and Coordinator of Music Education

E-mail: gary.stith@houghton.edu
Phone: 585.567.9411

Gary Stith
Associate Professor &
Coordinator of Music Education

Gary Stith holds a BME from The Ohio State University and the MM in music education from the Eastman School of Music, as well as the Certificate of Advanced Study in Educational Administration from the State University College of New York at Buffalo.  He taught instrumental music in the Holland and Williamsville Central Schools (NY) for a total of thirty years.  From 1997-2001, he also served as adjunct instructor of music education at the State University of New York at Buffalo.

From 1979-93, his Williamsville East High School Wind Ensemble received consistent 6A and 6A+ NYSSMA Ratings, won nine superior “gold” ratings at national music festivals across the northeastern and midwestern U.S., and made various major convention appearances including the New York State Band Directors Association (NYSBDA) Symposium, the New York State School Music Association (NYSSMA) Winter Conference, and the College Band Directors National Association (CBDNA) Eastern Division Conference.  Guest conductors, clinicians and performing artists with his Williamsville East musical ensembles included Frank L. Battisti, Warren Benson, Lt. Commander Lewis J. Buckley, James Croft, Ronald Daniels, Denis DiBlasio, Elliott DelBorgo, Frank Erickson, Frederick Fennell, Richard Floyd, Col. Arnald Gabriel, Col. Lowell Graham, Richard Grunow, Anthony Iannaccone, Christopher Izzo, Jeff Jarvis, Jerry Junkin, David Kuehn, David Mancini, Steven Mauk, W. Francis McBeth, Vaclav Nelhybel, Larry Rachleff, Alfred Reed, Carl St. Clair, Ronald P. Socciarelli, Marice W. Stith, Mallory Thompson, Fisher Tull, and Rodney Winther.

From 1993-2002, he served as Instructional Specialist for the Fine and Performing Arts for the Williamsville Central Schools, during which time he founded and conducted the Williamsville Concert (Community) Band and established the Williamsville National Commissioning Consortium for the commissioning of new works for wind ensemble.  His ongoing commitment to the commissioning of wind compositions by significant composers has resulted in works by Samuel Adler, Mark Hijleh, Lowell Liebermann, Russell Peterson, Daniel Pinkham, Philip Rothman, Stephen Shewan, Augusta Read Thomas, and Dana Wilson.  During his twenty-three year tenure, the Williamsville Central School Music Department was recognized statewide as recipient of the NYSSMA Presidential Citation Award, and nationally as recipient of the MENC Exemplary Program Award, both honors being awarded to Williamsville in their year of inception.

He is a frequent guest conductor of all-county, area all-state and community bands, and served as Camp Coordinator and Conductor of the Senior High Band at the Bristol Hills Music Camp from 1994-2004.  He currently serves as a conductor of the Senior High Band at the Csehy Summer School of Music near Philadelphia.  His conducting teachers have included Frank L. Battisti, Frederick Fennell, Colonel Arnald Gabriel, Donald McGinnis, and Charles Peltz. In addition, he served a total of fifteen years as adult choir director at the Eastern Hills and Orchard Park Wesleyan Churches, and the Yorkshire Free Methodist Church. 

As a percussionist and timpanist, he has performed with the Columbus (Ohio), Amherst, and Orchard Park Symphony Orchestras, the Erie County Wind Ensemble, and toured with the American Wind Symphony Orchestra under Robert Austin Boudreau.  He is a certified NYSSMA All-State percussion adjudicator, and a frequent percussion clinician.  His former percussion teachers include John Beck (Eastman School of Music & the Rochester Philharmonic), Cloyd Duff (Cleveland Orchestra), James L. Moore (Ohio State University & Columbus Symphony), John Rowland (Buffalo Philharmonic), George Ward (Syracuse Symphony), and William Youhass (Fall Creek Marimbas).

He has authored articles on the topics of conducting, percussion and music education which have appeared in The Instrumentalist, National Band Association Journal, National Federation of State High School Associations Journal, NYSSMA School Music News, Flute Talk, the NYSBDA Band Stand, and The New Conductors Anthology.  

He has served as a clinician at various conferences including the Western New York Conference Day for Music Teachers, NYSSMA Winter Conference, NYSBDA Symposium, and the MENC Eastern Division Conference.  His most recent conference clinic sessions have been entitled “Practical Score Preparation Strategies for the Harried Band Director,” “The Care and Feeding of Your Percussion Section,” and “Fatherly Advice for Young Music Teachers.”

He was the Northeastern U.S. recipient of the 1976 American School Band Directors Association-Stanbury Award, the 1976 Holland (NY) Kiwanis “Citizen of the Year” Award, the 1993 “Outstanding Music Educator” Award at the World of Music Festival in Chicago, the 1998 NYSBDA “Outstanding Service Award,” and the 2003 Buffalo Philharmonic/Erie County Council of Music Coordinators “Award for Excellence in Music Education.”

Past President of both the New York State Council of Administrators of Music Education (NYSCAME) and the New York State Band Directors Association, and Past Chairman of the Erie County Council of Music Coordinators (ECCMC), he continues to serve on the NYSBDA Advisory Board.

Professor Stith maintains active memberships in MENC, NYSSMA, NYSBDA, PAS, ECMEA and CBDNA.

Courses: Instrumental Methods, Percussion Instruments & Techniques, Student Teaching Seminar, Instrumental Conducting, Graduate Music Education.