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Biography
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Matthew L. Williams is Associate Professor and Coordinator of Music Education at the University of Arizona. He teaches courses in undergraduate and graduate music education, advises graduate theses and dissertations, and leads the Tucson New Horizons Band. He has presented sessions and research at state, national, and international conferences including the National Association for Music Education National Conference, the International Society for Music Perception and Cognition, the Society for Music Teacher Education Symposium, and the Desert Skies Symposium on Research in Music Education. His work has been published in Journal of Research in Music Education, UPDATE: Applications of Research in Music Education,Bulletin of the Council for Research in Music Education, and others. He holds a B.M. in horn performance and B.M.M.E. degree from the University of Kentucky, M.M. degree in music education from Boston University, an M.M. degree in wind conducting from the University of Louisville, and a Ph.D. in music education from Florida State University. |
2025-2026 GVCB Season Rollout
from your conductor Dr. Matthew Williams
To the Green Valley Concert Band community,
I am so very excited to be writing this introduction to you as the new conductor for the Green Valley Concert Band. The GVCB has a prominent place in the Green Valley community, all made possible because of your longstanding support and patronage. The greater Tucson area has many opportunities to support the arts, and your choice to support one of the finest wind bands in the area is much appreciated. We have some fun concerts and great music planned for you this year (more details below), and I look forward to meeting you throughout our season. Please join us, say hello, and come be a part of our community!
The American West
10/23 at CPAC, 5:00 pm
10/26 at Canoa Ranch, 5:00 pm
We open our season with an homage to the great space in which we live. As a special treat, we will be sharing the stage with Tucson-based Grupo Arizona, a dynamic classical and jazz fusion chamber ensemble rooted in Mexican and Latin musical traditions. In addition to some feature selections, Grupo and GVCB will combine for two tour de force world-premiere arrangements – we guarantee you’ve never heard such an innovative collaboration! To wrap things up, you can hear music from some of your favorite Hollywood westerns and other music inspired by the great wide open.
Holidays Around the World
12/14 at Sahuarita District Auditorium, 7 pm
Holidays are a special time of significance across nearly every culture. During our time together today, you’ll hear some familiar classics as well as some newer works by younger composers. You’ll be transported across the globe, feel like you’re racing on a toboggan, and curled up by the fire on a bleak midwinter evening. Be sure your vocal cords are warmed up, as there may even be some singing during this wonderful time of the year.
Fanfares, Overtures, & Beginnings
1/18 at Sahuarita District Auditorium, 3pm
Fanfares traditionally serve as an attention-getter. Overtures signal the opening of a musical work. As my first season with the Green Valley Concert Band, it seemed like the perfect time to showcase some of the outstanding pieces of music that herald beginnings. From Copland to Shostakovich to Williams, we look forward to sharing both warhorses and fresh new pieces with you.
America!
3/1 at Sahuarita District Auditorium, 3pm
You are in for a double treat this season as we share the stage with the Dallas Brass, an American brass ensemble with performing credits including Bob Hope, Presidents Ford and H. W. Bush, as well as the CBS “Early Show”. Together we celebrate the American ideal and honor our shared history through music.
From Stage and Screen
4/12 at Sahuarita District Auditorium, 3pm
As we wrap up the season, we pay homage to the music that helped bring some of stage and screen’s most memorable characters to life. We make stops to Broadway, Tinseltown, and Carnegie Hall; the Notre Dame Cathedral and Anatevka; the streets of Los Angeles and New York City. We’ll even spend a little time on an intergalactic train ride. This concert is sure to be a fun trip down memory lane.