Directors

Dr. David T. Kehler, Director of Bands

Since 2009, David Kehler has served as Director of Bands and Professor of Music at Kennesaw State University. There, he oversees all aspects of the University’s quickly expanding band program while serving as Music Director and Conductor of the KSU Wind Ensemble. An advocate of new music, Professor Kehler has commissioned leading composers to write new works for wind ensemble. In addition, the KSU Wind Ensemble has been featured on 90.1 FM (WABE- Atlanta public radio), and continues to garner praise from composers including Steven Bryant, Karel Husa, David Lang, David Maslanka, Scott McAllister, Joel Puckett and others. Dr. Kehler’s ensembles have performed at the CBDNA Southern Division conferences in 2012 and 2016, and won the American Prize for best university wind ensemble/concert band recording in 2013.

Previously, David Kehler served The University of Texas at Austin as a Graduate Conducting Associate receiving a Doctor of Musical Arts degree. From 2001-2009, Dr. Kehler served as Associate Conductor of America’s Premier Windband: The Dallas Winds where he was the director of the Dallas Winds International Fanfare Project. In addition, Dr. Kehler conducted the Dallas Winds throughout Texas, including the annual Labor Day Concert at the Dallas Arboretum, various Chautauqua festivals, holiday concerts, and a formal gala presented by the United States Armed Forces with all of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in attendance.

While in Texas, Dr. Kehler was also Founder and Conductor of the GDYO Wind Symphony, an ensemble affiliated with the Greater Dallas Youth Orchestras, Inc. During his ten years of service, the GDYO Wind Symphony established itself as one of the premier youth wind ensembles in the United States. They were a featured ensemble at the Texas Bandmasters Association/National Band Association Convention in San Antonio, Texas, and were heard internationally on “From the Top”, a syndicated radio program featuring the finest young classical musicians in the country. In addition, the GDYO Wind Symphony participated in exchange concerts with the Atlanta Youth Wind Symphony and performed with Jeff Nelson, former horn of the Canadian Brass. In the summer of 2008, the GDYO Wind Symphony embarked on an extensive two-week tour of China, performing at all of the major music conservatories throughout China and Hong Kong.

Previous academic appointments were at Southern Methodist University, the University of Rhode Island, and Bay City Western High School, in Bay City, Michigan. Growing up in Michigan, Dr. Kehler received his Bachelor of Music Education and Master of Music in Conducting degrees from Michigan State University, followed by his Doctor of Musical Arts degree in instrumental conducting from the University of Texas at Austin. Professor Kehler currently serves as Vice-President for the College Band Directors National Association-Southern Division, and has memberships in many musical organizations including CBDNA, NAfME, Phi Beta Mu, GMEA, Conductor’s Guild and others. David Kehler continues to be active as a guest conductor and clinician for both high schools and universities throughout the United States, including recent engagements at Florida State University, McNeese State University, University of Georgia, University of Missouri, and the University of Rhode Island.

Dr. Brandon Meeks, Director of Athletic Bands/Associate Director of Bands 

Dr. Brandon Meeks is from Charlotte, North Carolina, and obtained a PhD in Music Education from Florida State University, a Master of Music Education from Florida State University, and Bachelor of Science in Music Education from Western Carolina University. He has taught in a variety of settings from middle school through undergraduate. His most recent appointment was as the Assistant Director of Athletic Bands at the University of Houston. He has published research in music education in state, and international journals, and presented at multiple in-service conferences across the southeast. Some of his accolades include being named the East Lincoln Middle School Teacher of the Year, the North Carolina South Central Bandmasters Young Director Award of Excellence, and a recipient of the prestigious North Carolina Teaching Fellows scholarship. Dr. Meeks is a National Board-Certified Teacher and holds honorary memberships to Kappa Kappa Psi and Tau Beta Sigma. He enjoys lifting weights, playing piano, and currently resides in Woodstock, Georgia. 

Dr. Daniel Lee, Assistant Director of Bands

Daniel Lee is the Assistant Director of Bands at Kennesaw State University and the conductor of the KSU Wind Symphony. Prior to joining the KSU Bands, Dr. Lee served as a Graduate Part-Time Instructor at Texas Tech University, teaching and assisting with all aspects of the concert and athletic band programs as well as the undergraduate conducting courses. His recent publications include an article in the Instrumentalist (April 2020, “The Ensemble Pianist”), a presentation at the 2022 TMEA Poster Session (“Relationships Between Conducting Course Experiences and Attitudes Toward Other Academic Courses”), and a lesson plan published on the Journal of Music Theory Pedagogy resources page (“Introduction to Modes”). He also serves as the conductor of the Philharmonic Orchestra with Georgia Youth Symphony Orchestras. 

Dr. Lee has over a decade of experience teaching band and orchestra at the middle and high school levels and has also conducted opera and musical theatre (most recently with the TTU School of Theatre and Dance) throughout his career. Originally from the Denver area, Dr. Lee has taught in Colorado, Washington, Oregon, and Texas. He holds memberships Pi Kappa Lambda, Phi Kappa Phi, and is an Honorary Member of Phi Mu Alpha, Tau Beta Sigma, and Kappa Kappa Psi. Dr. Lee earned his D.M.A. in Wind Conducting at Texas Tech University with Dr. Sarah McKoin, and his M.M. at Colorado State University with J. Steven Moore and Wes Kenney, and his B.M.E. from the University of Colorado at Boulder with Prof. Allan McMurray.