The Kansas City Wind Symphony is very excited to announce that Dr. Langston Hemenway, B.M.E., M.M., D.M.A., has been selected as our new conductor for the 2017-2018 season. Dr. Hemenway currently serves as Director of Instrumental Studies at William Jewell College in Liberty, MO and will be replacing Dr. Phil Posey, who has led the KCWS since 2002. The Kansas City Wind Symphony is particularly fortunate that Pat Setser will continue in her role as our associate conductor.
Dr. Hemenway earned his Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Instrumental Conducting from the University of Michigan, his Master’s degree in Conducting from the University of Kansas and a Bachelor’s in Music Education from the University of Oklahoma.
Currently, Dr. Hemenway conducts the Symphonic Band, directs the Jazz Band, teaches conducting and instrumental technique classes, supervises music education students, and administrates the instrumental division of the music department at William Jewell College.
Dr. Hemenway is an active conductor, adjudicator and clinician, regularly working with community and school bands from a wide array of experience levels. Prior to his position at William Jewell, he served on the music faculty at North Central College in Naperville, Illnois, and also taught for seven years as a public school band director in Texas and Kansas, working with distinguished high school programs in the Houston and Wichita areas. He has worked with numerous distinguished composers including Michael Daugherty, John Mackey, Kristin Kuster, Steven Bryant, Joel Puckett, Carter Pann, and Roshanne Etezady.
Dr. Hemenway’s professional affiliations include the College Band Directors National Association, the National Association for Music Education, and the Music Educator’s Associations of Illinois, Kansas and Missouri. He holds membership in Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia, and is an honorary member of Sigma Alpha Iota. Dr. Hemenway is published by GIA Music.
Ms. Setser recently retired as Supervisor of Music for the North Kansas City Public Schools and Director of Bands at Winnetonka High School. Over the years, her bands received consistent 1st Division ratings and performed at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC, and Carnegie Hall. Ms. Setser is a member of the music staff at the University of Central Missouri.
Recognized as one of the area’s most accomplished musicians, Ms. Setser has been a member of Kansas City Wind Symphony since 2002.