Scott Guidry
Scott Guidry is Assistant Professor and Director of Bands at Bemidji State University. He holds a Bachelor of Music Education degree from Loyola University in New Orleans, La., and a Master of Arts degree in Instrumental Conducting from George Mason University in Fairfax, VA. His primary conducting teachers include Dr. Joseph Hebert and Prof. Anthony Maiello.
Prior to joining the BSU faculty, he served a 20-year Air Force career, and was most recently the Director of Operations for The United States Air Force Band in Washington, D.C. Additionally, he was the officer in charge of the Ceremonial Brass and Airmen of Note. Before joining the Air Force, he was Director of Bands at Carencro High School and Lafayette High School in Louisiana, earning numerous superior ratings at the district and state levels. Additionally, he was co-conductor of the Lafayette Concert Band and named Director Emeritus in 1993.
A native of Carencro, La., Professor Guidry joined the Air Force in 1993. During his tenure in the Air Force, he performed with a broad range of talented guest artists, to include Kim Nazarian of New York Voices, Canadian Brass alumni Ronald Romm and Fred Mills, Keiko Matsui, Helen Reddy, Crystal Gayle, Wilford Brimley and The Platters. He led performances with the Air Force Strings featuring viola virtuosi Atar Arad, Marcus Thompson, Nokuthula Ngwenyama, Robert Verebes, and Patricia McCarty. Professor Guidry has presented master classes, clinics and performances with high school ensembles representing the states of Louisiana, New York, Illinois, Georgia, Virginia, Tennessee and Florida.
His military career highlights include performances throughout the United States, Europe and Western Asia, including Russia, Finland, Germany, Italy, Poland, Turkey, France, Belgium, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Slovenia, Portugal, Czech Republic, Ireland, Bulgaria, Romania, Iraq, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Afghanistan. In 2010, he deployed to SW Asia and was leader of the US Air Forces Central Command Band, enhancing morale and supporting embassies throughout the theater.
He led ceremonies at the White House and Joint Base Andrews honoring the arrivals of heads of state of France, Canada, Germany, South Korea, China and the United Kingdom and has performed in notable venues such as the Neues Gewandhaus Leipzig. As leader of the U.S. Air Forces in Europe Band, Professor Guidry led a jazz band tour of Western Siberia, celebrating 10 years of the U.S. Consulate in Yekaterinburg, and led a ceremonial band in Sofia, Bulgaria commemorating 100 years of diplomatic relations between the U.S. and Bulgaria.
His diplomatic efforts continued at The USAF Band in Washington, D.C., as he was the principal planner and host for international exchanges with military conductors representing the African Republics of Ghana and Benin. Additionally, he arranged a joint performance featuring The USAF Band and a visiting contingent of the Royal New Zealand Air Force Band, vividly illustrating the benefits of allies working together for a common purpose.
Professor Guidry is a member of the College Band Directors National Association, Conductors Guild, National Association for Music Education, and the College Music Society.
Ryan Webber
Ryan Webber is a conductor, trombonist, and educator based out of Bemidji Minnesota. He received a Bachelor of Music in Trombone Performance from the University of California, Irvine, studying under David Stetson, and a Master of Music in Trombone Performance from the University of Kansas, studying under Dr. Michael Davidson. Additional trombone studies have been completed with Graeme Mutchler, Michael Hoffman, and Dr. Jim Kraft. Webber has studied conducting with Dr. Mathias Elmer, Dr. Kevin Sütterlin, Dr. Paul Popiel, and Dr. Stephen Tucker.
Webber has taught at Bemidji State since 2017. He currently teaches applied low brass, low brass methods, and directs the Symphonic Band, Trombone Choir, and Pep Band. He served as assistant conductor for BSU Opera productions of Pirates of Penzance in 2018 and was the music director for the Fall 2021 production of The Old Maid and the Thief.
As an orchestral musician, Webber has performed with the Bemidji, Heartland, Southeast Kansas, Kansas City Civic, and Corona Symphony Orchestras. In addition to performances around the United States, he toured China with the MasterWorks Festival Orchestra in 2014. Artists he has performed with include Natalie Cole, Bill Watrous, Jim Oatts, and Michael W. Smith.
Webber maintains an active schedule as a conductor. In 2019, he was appointed Music Director of the Heartland Symphony. During the summers, he serves as Music Director and Vocal Coach for the Northern Light Opera Company. Webber was awarded a fellowship with Sinfonietta Memphis in 2021 — he was selected from a pool of 60 international conductors to rehearse and guest conduct one of the leading historically-informed performance practice ensembles in the nation. Other groups he has worked with include Lawrence Youth Symphony (which doubled in size during his tenure), Youth Orchestras of Kansas City, La Primavera Youth Orchestra, and Community Youth Orchestra of Southern California. Webber is equally at home working with concert bands — during the summers he regularly appears with the Bemidji Area Concert Band.
When Webber isn’t performing, he enjoys sharing his passion for music with students of all ages. He has given pre-concert lectures for the Minnesota and Indianapolis Symphony Orchestras, and has written program notes for soloists and ensembles of all sizes, including releases for Naxos. As an administrator, he serves as the Online News Coordinator for the International Trombone Association.
Outside of music, Webber enjoys spending time with his wife Miriam and dog Chewie, trying new restaurants, reading, and going for runs on the beautiful trails by Lake Bemidji.