We all graduate college wanting to direct the HUGE program. Dreaming of playing great music from our own high school band or college. Then we get our first job in a small school that doesn’t have much. Where we quickly realize that all those dreams are but a distant memory as we trudge through basic techniques just trying to make our band sound good. In this clinic we will demonstrate how to get from the basics to Grade V+ with the issues that small schools face to play “Big Band'' literature.
Matt Wooten
- Biographical Information
Matt Wooten is the Director of Bands, and the Director of the School of the Arts at Christian Academy of Louisville. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Music from Western Kentucky University, as well as a Masters in Music Education from University of Cincinnati's College Conservatory of Music. Under his direction the band program at Christian Academy has grown from 50 students in 2003 to currently over 200 students in grades 5-12 grade. The CAL Wind Ensemble program was created in 2008 and has performed at the Grade VI level and has received a Distinguished or Superior rating each year at both the District and the National level. In 2016 this ensemble earned the Bronze Award for Concert Bands at the Festival Disney competition in Orlando, Florida and in 2018 won the Golden Mickey at the same competition. In 2022 the Marching Centurions finished 2nd at the Bands of America Obetz regional in class A. In 2009, Mr. Wooten developed and continues to direct the Christian Academy School of the Arts, with the help of an incredible staff. The program currently serves over 125 students in both visual and performing arts. Mr. Wooten is a member of Phi Mu Alpha Fraternity and the Phi Beta Mu International Bandmaster’s Fraternity. He has been married to his wife Leslie for 27 years. Together they have two children, Sammy, a bassoonist currently attending Western Kentucky University as a Music Education major and Hannah, who plays the trumpet in Christian Academy Honors Wind Ensemble, Marching Centurions, Honors Jazz Band and Symphonic Orchestra.