KEVIN LEWIS, PRINCIPAL CONDUCTOR
CONDUCTOR@EHCB.ORG
J. Kevin Lewis received his Music Education degree at the University of South Florida. He taught in Hillsborough County for 37 years, 27 years of which were at Burns Middle School in Brandon, Florida. During his career, he was twice selected as teacher of the year for his school and was selected by the School Band and Orchestra Magazine as one of 50 music teachers in the country who make a difference in students’ lives. Mr. Lewis received the “Oliver Hobbs Award” from the Florida Bandmasters Association for his “consistent superior performances and service to the organization”.
Under Mr. Lewis’ direction the Burns Bands performed throughout the Southeast, receiving numerous honors in parades and festivals, and receiving the highest ratings at district evaluations.
Mr. Lewis is a member of the Florida Bandmasters Association, Music Educator National Conference, The National Band Association, and Phi Mu Alpha music fraternity. He currently serves as the Instrumental Music Director at First Baptist Church in Brandon, Florida, where he also plays trombone in their orchestra. In his spare time he enjoys biking, woodworking, gardening, baking, and traveling with his wife, Sandra.
Under Mr. Lewis’ direction the Burns Bands performed throughout the Southeast, receiving numerous honors in parades and festivals, and receiving the highest ratings at district evaluations.
Mr. Lewis is a member of the Florida Bandmasters Association, Music Educator National Conference, The National Band Association, and Phi Mu Alpha music fraternity. He currently serves as the Instrumental Music Director at First Baptist Church in Brandon, Florida, where he also plays trombone in their orchestra. In his spare time he enjoys biking, woodworking, gardening, baking, and traveling with his wife, Sandra.
KEN WATTS, CONDUCTOR EMERITUS
Ken Watts is an accomplished musician with more than 40 years of experience as a conductor and performer.
He is a Conducting Fellow of the Conductors Institute of South Carolina and has been an associate conductor of the South Shore Symphony Orchestra and the band director of the Chamberlain Adult & Community School in Tampa. He has been a guest conductor with the Florida Wind Band and Tampa Community Band and he continues as the associate music director for Saint Patrick Catholic Church in Tampa. Watts, an extremely talented trumpet player, founded The Brass Menagerie Brass Quintet with Percussion and The Jaz [sic] Workshop Big Band. He also performed as a musician in the U.S. Air Force during the 1970s. He has a Master of Music with a dual concentration in Instrumental Conducting and Trumpet Performance from USF and a Master of Arts with a concentration in Counseling Psychology from Vermont College of Norwich University. He has a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology from USF, an Associate of Arts in Music from Valencia Community College and completed coursework in music and psychology at North Texas State University. He is a member of the Third Order, Society of St. Francis, National Association of Pastoral Musicians, Pi Kappa Lambda Music Honor Society, Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia Music Fraternity and the Florida Music Educators Association. |
Linda Groh, assistant conductor
Linda Groh is a well known educator and musician in the Tampa Bay area.
She was born in Tampa and raised in Brandon, Fla. She earned her Bachelor of Music Education Degree at Florida State University, where she was a member of Sigma Alpha Iota Music Honors and Tau Beta Sigma Band Honor Sororities. Groh earned a Master of Arts from New York University in 1985. She is a former hornist with The Florida Orchestra. Groh taught orchestra at Brandon High School for 30 years. Her orchestra was the pilot program for Hillsborough County orchestras. She has been a guest clinician for Manatee, Polk, Lee, Brevard, and Hillsborough Counties. She was Teacher of the Year at Brandon High School, Past President of the Florida Orchestra Association, Department Chairman at Brandon and Newsome High Schools. In 2010 she became the first Orchestra Director in Hillsborough County to be inducted in the Hillsborough County Music Educators Hall Of Fame. During her career she has taught Orchestra, music theory, band, chorus, keyboard, guitar, music history, sound and light engineering, jazz band, show choir, humanities, art and English. Many of her students have become music teachers in Hillsborough County and throughout the United States. |