Conductors & Presenters
Meet the world-class conductors and presenters you’ll work with at QMEC 2027!
Join these industry leaders as they share keynotes, conductor development, ensemble experiences, the latest research, and so much more.
More conductors, clinicians, professionals, and academics will be announced with the full program.
Please note that Sessions and Presenters are subject to change.
Dr Bruce Pearson
QMEC Ambassador | QMEC Patron
USA
Supported by Kjos
Read full biography here
Bruce Pearson grew up in Bloomington, Minnesota. He has taught at the elementary, junior high, high school, and college levels for over 40 years. In December of 1998, Dr Pearson was awarded the prestigious Midwest Clinic Medal of Honor in recognition of his outstanding contributions to music education. In 2007, he was the recipient of the Distinguished Alumni Award at St. Cloud State University. Also in 2007, he was recognised as the first Patron for the Maryborough Conference in Queensland (now QMEC). Dr Pearson was selected as a 2017 recipient of University of Northern Colorado’s Honored Alumni Award. Additionally, the American School Band Directors Association conferred on Dr Pearson the 2014 Edwin Franko Goldman Award “as a symbol of high esteem and respect for outstanding personal contributions to the school band movement.”
He continues to serve as a guest lecturer, clinician, and conductor in addition to his work as a composer, arranger, and author.
Dr Bruce Pearson is supported by Kjos
Scott Rush
Performance Wind Symphony Conductor
USA
Supported by GIA Publications
Read full biography here
Scott Rush is the team lead for the HABITS series, one of the leading music method book series in the United States. He currently serves as the conductor of the Charleston Wind Symphony and is an adjunct professor at the collegiate level. Mr Rush is a graduate of the New England Conservatory of Music and is the former Director of Bands at Wando High School. Under his direction, the Wando Symphonic Band performed at the 2007 Midwest International Band and Orchestra Clinic.
Mr Rush is active as a conductor, clinician, and adjudicator throughout the United States and the world. He is the author and/or co-author of twenty highly touted books, some of which include: Habits of A Successful Band Director, Habits of a Significant Band Director, Habits of a Successful Middle School Band Director, The Evolution of a Successful Band Director, Habits of a Successful Beginner Band Musician, Habits of a Successful Intermediate Band Musician, Habits of a Successful Middle Level Musician, and Habits of a Successful Musician, for GIA Publications. In 2010, Mr Rush was elected to the prestigious American Bandmasters Association.
Scott Rush is supported by GIA Publications
Dr Carl Crossin OAM
Performance Choir Conductor
South Australia
Read more here
Read more about Carl here.
Erin Ellenburg
Pedagogy Wind Symphony Conductor
Victoria
Supported by Kjos
Read more here
Erin Ellenburg is a music educator, conductor, clinician and adjudicator originally from the United States where she received a Bachelor of Music Education and a Master of Music in Trumpet Performance from Appalachian State University. It has been well over a decade since she moved to Australia, furthering her studies with a Master of Music in Performance Teaching from the University of Melbourne. She is the Head of Brass at Genazzano FCJ College in Melbourne where she conducts all of the wind bands and teaches trumpet, horn, and classroom music.
Erin has been the conductor of the Melbourne Youth Concert Band for Melbourne Youth Orchestras since 2018, and is a brand ambassador for Kjos Music Company. Erin is a vocal advocate of community banding and ensemble-based music education.
Erin Ellenburg is supported by Kjos
Dr Elizabeth Scott
Pedagogy Choir Conductor
New South Wales
Read more here
Elizabeth Scott is a Lecturer in Conducting and Choral Director at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music and the Associate Music Director of Sydney Philharmonia Choirs. She is a graduate of Symphony Australia’s Conductor Development Program and was awarded the Sydney Choral Symposium Foundation Choral Conducting Scholarship in 2008. As the holder of scholarships from the Hungarian Ministry of Education, she then undertook post-graduate studies in choral conducting and vocal performance in Hungary and Germany before returning to Australia in 2004. Elizabeth completed a Doctorate in Choral Conducting in 2021.
Elizabeth has been the Musical Director of VOX, Sydney Philharmonia’s youth choir since 2008 and regularly works as a chorus master for the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, preparing choirs for international conductors including Sir Simon Rattle, Simone Young, and Stephen Layton.
Elizabeth is very passionate about public music education, having conducted ensembles and programs for The Arts Unit (a specialist branch of the NSW Department of Education) since 2005. She has been a guest conductor for the Canberra Symphony Orchestra, the National Youth Choir of Australia, Festival of Voices, Gondwana Choirs and Cantillation, and has performed and recorded with Pinchgut Opera and The Song Company.
Bethany Robinson
Performance Big Band Conductor
USA
Read more here
Bethany Robinson is a Yamaha Performing Artist, GRAMMY Music Educator Award Finalist, NAfME Jazz Council Chair, Recording Academy member, and serves as the Jazz Education Network Executive Board Vice President. She joined the faculty of Purdue University as the Director of Jazz in 2024 after building the jazz program at Noblesville (Indiana) Schools from one to six jazz ensembles, including recognition as an Indiana Honor Band and two-time finalist at the Jazz at Lincoln Center Essentially Ellington Festival & Competition. She is also the Director of the annual Purdue Jazz Festival, the largest college-run jazz festival in the country.
Notable recognitions include Indiana Jazz Educator of the Year, Noblesville Teacher of the Year, Indiana Teacher of the Year Semi-Finalist, Jazz Hero by the Jazz Journalists Association, and Indiana Outstanding High School Music Educator of the Year. She is a two-time Lilly Teacher Creativity Fellow, receiving grants to study jazz and culture in both the US and Brazil. Bethany has co-led Indiana Jazz Girls Day since 2018, hosting workshops and side-by-side concerts for students in Indiana, North Carolina, and even Hannover (Germany) to elevate student leaders through jazz.
Bethany has been a keynote presenter around the globe, including the Australian National Band and Orchestra Conference, International Midwest Band and Orchestra Clinic, Glasgow CREATE! in Scotland, and state music educator conferences (IN, OH, OK, IA, NY, SC). Bethany has also been a guest conductor for All-State Jazz Ensembles in New York, Iowa, North Carolina, Missouri, and South Carolina. Internationally, she was the chief adjudicator and guest artist for the Victorian Schools’ Jazz Festival in Naarm/Melbourne, guest artist at Jazz Woche Festival in Hannover, Germany, and presenter at the BBC Symphony Hall in Glasgow, Scotland. She is a clinician and adjudicator independently and for Jazz at Lincoln Center, Yamaha, Music For All, and an avid performer on upright bass, electric bass, and vocals.
Bethany Robinson is a Yamaha Performing Artist.
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