2026 Conference Headliners
Craig Skeffington
Band Headliner
​
Craig Skeffington has been an active New England composer, arranger and educator
for three decades with music in the jazz, marching and wind band genres. A high school
band director since 1992, Craig was the 2003 MMEA Teacher of the Year. His
published pieces with the Neil A. Kjos Music Company, Alfred/Belwin Jazz, Kendor
Music and CL Barnhouse have appeared in the Jazz Education Network (JEN) and
NYSSMA manuals and consistently receive “Editor’s Choice” in the JW Pepper music
catalog. His music has been performed frequently at the prestigious Midwest Band and
Orchestra Clinic in Chicago, Ill. He is both a past president of the Maine Band
Directors Association and jazz activities chair for the Maine Music Educators
Association. Craig has also served MMEA as the instrumental jazz chairperson and at
the national level with NAFME as the Eastern Division representative. In 2020 Craig
was inducted into the Old Town High School Hall of Fame and in 2024, the Maine
Music Educators Association Hall of Fame.
As a trumpet player Craig has played with Barry Manilow, the Glenn Miller Orchestra,
Natalie Cole, Johnny Mathis, Colin Raye, The Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra
from Washington D.C., Kris Berg and the Metroplexity Big Band (from Dallas TX) and
toured nationally with the Artie Shaw Orchestra. As a soloist, he has appeared with
Grammy award winning artists Wayne Bergeron, Eric Marienthal and Bob Mintzer as
well as Grammy nominated artist Bobby Shew.
Locally, he works with the Seacoast Big Band, the Portland Jazz Orchestra, the Al
Corey Big Band and “Funkationland”. Craig lives in South Portland with his wife Carrie.
His music can be found on the Portland Jazz Orchestra’s latest CDs – “Nor Easter”,
“Generations” and “Live at One Longfellow Square” - available on iTunes and CD baby.
Angela Kasper
Choral Headliner
Dr. Angela Kasper has 32 years of experience serving as Director of Choral Activities at the university level where she conducted choirs and taught undergraduate and graduate courses in conducting, choral methods, global choral traditions, and choral Literature.
Angie is constantly redefining what makes a meaningful choral experience and how best to place this evolving view at the center of her work with her own choirs. No longer bound to a choral ideal that was espoused during her own university education, she is exploring the choral community as a place to expand cultural awareness while experiencing the world’s group singing traditions. Collaboration with culture bearers and traveling abroad for her own study help her realize how little she knows about the vast subject she teaches!
Dr. Kasper is passionate about sharing what she has learned over the course of her
career with other practicing choral teachers. She hopes to empower young conductors to recognize and celebrate their unique strengths while encouraging them to lead with authenticity and vulnerability. In teaching undergraduate music education students, her goal is to help these future educators understand that collaborative choral rehearsals with ample time for student voice, student leadership, and student input into artistic interpretation are a much more enjoyable and equitable approach to ensemble music making than is the podium-driven model.
Angie is so fortunate to have met and worked with many young people while conducting honor choirs throughout the United States and abroad. Whether it be fourth graders in Indiana or high school students in the United Arab Emirates, she considers every
experience to be a reminder of our shared humanity and the power of music to unite us. As she continues this work, Dr. Kasper is focused on inclusive enrichment activities that can serve all students regardless of economic status and experiential level. Angie is forever grateful to all her teachers and mentors including Dr. Mary Goetze, Mr. Robert Porco, Dr. Dennis Shrock, Dr. Karen Howard, Dr. Michael Rogers, and Dr. Jean Sinor. Mostly though, she is grateful for her mom who gave up her own dream of being
a choral director in order to raise a family in a manner that would allow her daughter torealize that dream instead.
Dr. Jeremy Dittus
General Music Headliner
Dr. Jeremy Dittus, Diplôme Supérieur Jaques-Dalcroze, enjoys a career as a pianist, theorist, and Dalcroze Education specialist. An avid recitalist, he has performed solo and chamber programs and presented Dalcroze masterclasses throughout the United States, Europe, South America, and Southeast Asia. He currently directs the Dalcroze School of Music and Movement (formerly the Dalcroze School of the Rockies) teacher-training program. He also serves on the faculty of Hope College in Holland, Michigan where he teaches Dalcroze Eurhythmics for undergraduate music majors. Recently, he spearheaded a Dalcroze program for the National Children’s Chorus and oversaw their team of dedicated Dalcroze instructors across the United States; he also implemented a Dalcroze-based Musicianship program at the Suzuki Music Institute of Dallas. A former Lecturer in piano, theory, and solfège at the Baldwin-Wallace Conservatory in Cleveland, he also has taught undergraduate solfège, piano, and composition courses at the University of Colorado at Boulder as well as eurhythmics and solfège at l’Institut Jaques-Dalcroze in Geneva, Switzerland, Colorado State University in Fort Collins, Colorado, and in Shanghai, China at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music. He has served on the Board of Trustees of the Dalcroze Society of America (DSA), and in that capacity served as past Vice-President. Additionally, he chaired the Professional Development Committee of the DSA from 2012- 2021, which created the first national standards for Dalcroze Education in the US, specifically for teacher-training towards the Dalcroze Professional Certificate and the Dalcroze License. During his tenure, the DSA Council of Diplômés was formed, and he currently serves as their Vice-Chair. Locally, he served on the state board for the Colorado Federation of Music Clubs for several years and was Vice-President and President at different times for that organization. In 2015, he was invited to serve on le Collège de l’Institut Jaques-Dalcroze (an organization that supports and protects Dalcroze Education around the world), and he is honored to continue this post in the present day also serving on the Bureau du Collège.
​
Dr. Dittus founded the Dalcroze School of Music and Movement in 2010 located in Dallas, Texas. The DSM is of the few authorized Dalcroze training centers in the United States. The DSM offers Dalcroze Education classes (Eurhythmics, Rhythmic-Solfège, and Advanced Dalcroze) for youth (pre-kindergarten through high school), adult enrichment classes, and full-time study toward the Dalcroze Professional Certificate and Dalcroze License (eurhythmics, solfège, improvisation, pedagogy, and plastique animée). The DSM youth curriculum has been used at leading institutions throughout North America: Chicago, IL (DePaul University); Cleveland, OH (Baldwin-Wallace University), Boston, MA (The Dalcroze School of Boston and Concord Conservatory); Salt Lake City, UT (Rythmique Music School), Toronto, Canada (My Musical Upbringing); Denver/Boulder (Colorado Music Festival and Integral Steps); and Salem, OR. The DSM welcomes students from all over the world; past students have come from Canada, Bolivia, Peru, Chile, Brazil, Japan, Korea, China, Hong Kong, Macau, Singapore, The Netherlands, Spain, Germany, Taiwan, Malaysia, and the UAE. The DSM is one of the pioneers in online Dalcroze Education, and it continues to forge new pathways for increasing accessibility to Dalcroze Education. The unique blend of online and in-person education in use at the school supports students from all over the world to access Dalcroze Education while maintaining the highest standards of excellence.
As a clinician, Dr. Dittus strives for accessibility, clarity, and artistry in applications of the Dalcroze work. He is honored to have shared Dalcroze Education or piano concerts at universities, conservatories, summer music institutes, and music organizations throughout North America, South America, Europe, and Asia. Highlights include Congrès International Jaques-Dalcroze, International Conference of Dalcroze Studies, Internacional Convención Suzuki de las Américas, El Festival Internacional Suzuki de Perú, World Piano Conference in Novi Sad, Serbia, El Festival Internacional Suzuki de Ecuador, International Early Childhood Music and Movement Convention, Dalcroze Canada National Workshop, Singapore International String Conference, l’Institut Jaques-Dalcroze Cours d’Été, Dalcroze Society of America National Conference, Music Teacher’s National Conference, National Piano Foundation, Suzuki Association of the Americas National Conference, American Orff-Schulwerk Association National Convention, National Flute Convention, in addition to Music Educator/MTNA State Conventions/Presentations in New York, Colorado, Arizona, Montana, Oregon, Wyoming, and Illinois, among others. He has been a guest artist at leading institutions including the Shanghai Conservatory, Mahidol University in Thailand, Hansei University in Korea, DEMUS in Thailand, Universiti Malaya, University of Saskatoon in Canada, Colburn Music School, Carnegie Melon University, Denver University, University of Colorado at Boulder, DePaul University, Wayne State University, Oklahoma State University, Texas A & M University, Southern Methodist University, University of Washington, Metropolitan State University of Denver, University of Louisville, University of Nebraska at Kearny, Longy School of Music, the University of Oregon, University of Northern Colorado, Webster University, the Levine School of Music, among others. He has also presented workshops for organizations such as the Hong Kong Dalcroze Association, the Korean Dalcroze Association, the Taiwan Dalcroze Society, most chapters of the DSA (San Francisco, Pacific Northwest, New England, Rocky Mountain, Pittsburgh, and New York), Los Angeles Suzuki Institute, Hawaii Suzuki Institute, Alaska Suzuki Institute, Oregon Suzuki Institute, Colorado Suzuki Institute, and Rocky Ridge Music Center, among others.
In support of accessibility and equity, Dr. Dittus has several published books on Dalcroze Education: Embodying Music: A Textbook for Dalcroze Teacher Training toward the Dalcroze Certificate (Volumes I, II, III, and IV), Moving Sound: A Textbook for Dalcroze Teacher Training toward the Dalcroze License (Volume I, II, III), and the entire curriculum in place at the Dalcroze School of the Rockies: two volumes of Eurhythmics courses for students ages 4-7, five volumes of Rhythmic-Solfège youth program for students ages 6-14 (Rhythmic-Solfège I, II, III, IV, and V), and three volumes of Advanced Dalcroze curriculum (Advanced Dalcroze I, II, and III) for students ages 11-18, which culminates in the Advanced Placement Music Theory Exam. This DSM curriculum is in place at several institutions across North America. He has authored articles for several publications including: Chemins de Rythmique (Pathways to Eurhythmics) Volume 3, le Rythme, The Journal of the Dalcroze Society of America, Dalcroze Connections, and the American Suzuki Journal.
In 2010, Dr. Dittus earned the Diplôme Supérieur, (a doctoral equivalent in Switzerland) from L’Institut Jaques- Dalcroze in conjunction with La Haute Ekcole de Musique de Genève and Le Conservatoire de Musique de Genève. While in Geneva, he received top honors including the 2009 Prix pour les qualities musicales exceptionnelles and the 2010 Prix pour les qualités artistiques et pédagogiques exceptionnelles. Before Switzerland, he had the honor of studying at the Longy School of Music for the Dalcroze Professional Certificate and Dalcroze License (2005 and 2006, respectively). He completed a Doctor of Musical Arts in piano performance from the University of Colorado at Boulder in 2007; for the Master of Music, he studied piano performance and music theory at the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (2002). During his undergraduate work, he obtained a Bachelor of Music in piano performance and Bachelor of Science in chemistry (1999). Former teachers include Lisa Parker, Anne Farber, Ruth Gianadda, Marie-Laure Bachmann, Sylvia del Bianco, Sylvie Morgenegg, Laurent Sourisse, Andrew Cooperstock, Michael Chertock, Frank Weinstock, George Cherry, Eleanor Vail, and his mother, Karen Dittus.
Katie O'Hara LaBrie
Orchestra Headliner
Katie O’Hara LaBrie is a composer, conductor, clinician, and cellist from Northern Virginia and is the Orchestra Editor for Randall Standridge Music Publications. An educator at heart, Mrs. LaBrie spent the first 15 years of her career teaching orchestra in Fairfax County, Virginia. She holds a Bachelor of Music in Music Education from St. Olaf College, where she studied under Steven Amundson, and Masters of Music in Instrumental Conducting from George Mason University, where she studied with Anthony Maiello.
As a composer, Mrs. LaBrie’s inspiration grows from many sources such as family and nature, but primarily draws from her experiences as a music educator. She enjoys creating new music with the goal of being educationally sound, pleasing to audiences, and above all, fun for the players. She is passionate about sharing music with others and teaching students how to practice with purpose.
Mrs. LaBrie’s compositions for string orchestra and concert band have received many accolades including frequent selection as J.W. Pepper Editor’s Choice, as well as performances at the Midwest Band and Orchestra Directors Clinic and American String Teachers Association Conference. In 2022, she was honored as one of Yamaha’s “40 Under 40,” for her action, courage, creativity, and commitment to growth in the music education field. She is a frequent guest conductor and adjudicator for all-state and regional events and enjoys visiting schools as a guest clinician.
Mrs. LaBrie is the co-creator of “the Big IDEA” practice method, and was the founding conductor of the Fairfax Chamber Players. She lives in Fairfax, VA with her husband Joe, who is a middle school band director, and their budding musician, Liam. www.katieoharalabrie.com