The International Women’s Brass Conference Board of Directors is thrilled to welcome two new board members: Dr. Deanna Swoboda and Dr. Wendy Matthews! Read below to learn more.
Deanna Swoboda
Dr. Deanna Swoboda – tubist, educator, entrepreneur, and Associate Professor of Music at Arizona State University. She is a former tubist of Dallas Brass and creator and performer of a recruiting video and educational music workshop called “Band Blast Off.” Deanna has co-hosted (2012) and hosted IWBC (2019) conferences as well as host for ITEC 2023. Deanna is a Past President of the International Tuba Euphonium Association, is an Eastman Tuba Artist, and is Assistant Director of Graduate Studies in Music at Arizona State University. Swoboda’s research interests include creative and social entrepreneurship in the context of music and music curricula, with a focus on equity through all strands of music education. You can explore her tuba artistry on CDs Deanna’s Wonderland, Shamanic Journey, Table for Three, Fanfare and Flourish, Games for Brass.
Wendy Matthews
Dr. Wendy K. Matthews is a music educator, researcher, conductor, and trumpet player. She serves at Kent State University (Kent, OH) as the Associate Dean of Undergraduate Programs and Assessment in the College of Arts, Professor of Music Education, and director of the Kent State Youth Winds. She holds degrees from George Mason University, the University of Maryland-College Park, and the Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University Conservatory of Music. Prior to joining Kent State University’s faculty, Dr. Matthews was an Associate Professor in Music Education at Wayne State University (Detroit, MI) and led the music department at Northern Virginia Community College (Alexandria, VA) as an Assistant Dean. She has also taught undergraduate and graduate courses and conducted ensembles at Georgetown University, University of Maryland, and George Mason University. Additionally, Dr. Matthews taught elementary and secondary school instrumental music in Virginia and Maryland.
Her college ensembles have performed at the Kennedy Center Millennium Stage, DAR Constitution Hall in Washington, D.C., Severance Hall in Cleveland, Ohio, the Michigan Music Conference, and International Trumpet Guild International Conferences. As a guest conductor, clinician, and adjudicator, Dr. Matthews is in demand worldwide. She has guest conducted numerous honor bands, including the American Schools Honor Band, New Delhi, India; Ohio Music Educators Association Honor Bands, District 5, 6 7, Michigan School Band and Orchestra Association District XVI and III; Pennsylvania Music Educators Association District 1; the American School Band Director Association Honor Band – Ohio Chapter; Kentucky Music Educators Association District 7; and the Duplin County (NC) Honor Bands.
Dr. Matthews’ research interests include oral histories of pioneering women brass players with solo careers and in professional orchestras and military bands, research in group dynamics in large ensembles, and various topics in music teacher education. She is the co-author of the Basic Conducting Techniques published byRoutledge Music and author of a chapter in the Routledge International Handbook of Music Psychology in Education and the Community. She has also published in numerous journals, including the Journal of Research in Music Education, Psychology of Music, International Journal of Music Education, Arts Education Policy Review, Journal of Band Research, and the International Trumpet Guild Journal.
