Indiana Musicians Abroad | Trip Dashboard

Welcome to Indiana Musicians Abroad

Find the latest information on our Indiana trip below.

This international tour will be with the group from the great state of Indiana. Known for fast cars at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and as the amateur sports capital of the world, the Hoosier State is the 17th most populous state in the U.S. Musicians Abroad is proud to receive an endorsement from the Indiana Music Education Association (IMEA) and Indiana State School Music Association (ISSMA).

Our Office

Address: 5348 W. Vermont Street, Suite 200 Indianapolis, IN, 46224
Phone: 800.616.1112
Local: 317.637.0837
Contact

Chris Taylor State Coordinator

View Chris Taylor's Bio

About Chris Taylor

Christopher Taylor is currently in his 23rd year of teaching music. He is the Director of Bands at Pendleton Heights HS in Pendleton (IN). He began his career at Anderson Highland HS. Under his direction, the Highland Jazz Ensemble was selected to perform at the Indiana Music Education Association (IMEA) Conference. The marching band was successful in Indiana State School Music Association (ISSMA) field shows, placing 5th in Class B State Finals and the Indiana State Fair Band Day earning 1st place in 2005. Since Christopher was at Highland, the marching band performed in the Walt Disney World and Disneyland parades, the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, the Indianapolis 500 Parade and the Hollywood Christmas Parade.

At Pendleton Heights, he has helped increase membership in all areas of the band program. The Wind Ensemble and Jazz Ensemble received superior ratings every year since his arrival. The Wind Ensemble was selected to perform at the 2013 and 2022 IMEA Conference, Percussion Ensemble was selected in 2016, and the Jazz Ensemble in 2021. The marching band placed 2nd in the Mid-States Championships in 2017. In 2018, they reached the ISSMA State Finals for the first time in school history and repeated that feat in 2019 and 2021. They were selected to participate in the Philadelphia Thanksgiving Parades, Hollywood Christmas Parade and the Indianapolis 500 parade.

His involvement in IMEA includes serving as a clinician and state chair for the Non-Competitive Festivals. chair of the honor band and chair of the Beginning Teachers Workshop. Christopher recently completed a term as President. He has served on staff for the Indiana All-Star Marching band. Christopher also directs the Directors’ Jazz Orchestra, a group of music teachers from the area who perform throughout the year. The group was selected to perform at the 2005, 2009, 2011, 2017 and 2023 IMEA Conferences. He is a zone representative for the ISSMA and has served on the Indiana Bandmasters Association (IBA) and Indiana Jazz Education Association board. He was inducted into the honorary bandmaster fraternity, Phi Beta Mu, in 2012. He has also served as a conductor for the IBA All-Region Band.

Nicole DeGuire Orchestra Director

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About Nicole DeGuire

Nicole DeGuire is Associate Director of Orchestras at Carmel HS and an avid free-lance violinist with numerous orchestras across the state of Indiana.

Earning her B.M. in Violin Performance with Honors at Butler University, she went on to complete her M.M. in Violin Performance and Literature, as well as an Orchestral Studies Diploma from The Eastman School of Music.

Prior to Carmel, she was Director of Orchestras at Fishers HS. Her groups earned gold ratings at Indiana State School Music Association (ISSMA) District Festival and gold ratings With Distinction at ISSMA State Qualifications. The FHS Symphony Orchestra was an ISSMA State Finalist in 2017 and 2019 and performed at the IMEA Conference, Disneyworld, Chicago and New York City.

Nicole has extensive orchestral experience performing with the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra and the Ft. Wayne Philharmonic. Other professional orchestral experience includes Rochester Philharmonic, Erie Philharmonic, Albany Symphony Orchestra and South Bend Symphony Orchestra. She has also played with many local symphony orchestras, such as Muncie, Anderson and Lafayette Symphony Orchestras.

She maintains an active private violin/viola/piano studio, serves as a guest clinician/coach for middle and high school orchestras, has been an adjudicator for the Middle Tennessee State Band and Orchestra Concert Performance Assessment, and the Anderson University Concerto and Aria Competition. Ms. DeGuire is the Indiana American String Teachers Association (ASTA) All-State Orchestra Coordinator, violin faculty for the Music For All National Festival and Summer Symposium, a member of the ISSMA State Board and was the 2020 Indiana ASTA High School Orchestra Teacher of the Year.

Scott Bradford Choral Director

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About Scott Bradford

Scott Allen Bradford made his Castlewood conducting debut at the Tribute to America concert on June 4, 2016, at the Pershing Auditorium in the Indiana War Memorial. Mr. Bradford had retired after 32 years as a music educator for Beech Grove City Schools where he was the Music Department chair as well as Director of Choral activities, assistant band director and auditorium director. He currently serves as the Choral Education Director for Indiana State School Music Association (ISSMA) and holds a Bachelor’s in Music Education from Eastern Kentucky University as well as a Master in Music for Choral Conducting from the prestigious Indiana University Jacobs School of Music.

Mr. Bradford’s career has included programming concerts for intermediate, secondary and collegiate level performances; entertaining professionally at Beef & Boards Dinner Theatre and The American Cabaret Theater and performing as a singer/dancer at Union Station and various national theme parks. He has served as adjunct faculty for Marian University and teaches online music theory as faculty for Indiana Online Academy. His conducting experiences have placed Mr. Bradford on stages both locally and internationally including Clowes Memorial Hall, New York Trinity Chapel, Hong Kong Arts Centre and Sant’ Agnese in Agone, Italy and guest conductor for the Amsterdam Theatre on Broadway, the Madison County Choral Festival and the Indiana Vocal Jazz Fest.

Trae Blanco Guest Conductor

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About Trae Blanco

Dr. Trae Blanco serves as Director of Bands at Butler University (IN) where he conducts the Wind Ensemble, teaches undergraduate and graduate conducting and administers the band area. After completing his BME at New Mexico State University (NMSU), Dr. Blanco has served as Director of Bands at Las Cruces HS (NM). Dr. Blanco holds a DMA in wind conducting from the Herberger Institute at Arizona State University and a MM in Wind Conducting from the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University. Prior to coming to Butler, Dr. Blanco served as Director of Bands at Murray State and the University of Southern Maine.

In July 2015, Dr. Blanco was a guest conductor with the United States Army Pershing's Own Concert Band in Washington, D.C. and in both 2015 and 2016 Dr. Blanco was a finalist in the American Prize in Wind Conducting. Dr. Blanco has published articles with the NBA and WASBE journals and has been an invited presenter at the state conventions of West Virginia, Maine, The Midwest International Band and Orchestra Clinic, the 2019 WASBE International Convention in Bunol, Spain and the upcoming 2024 conference in Seoul, South Korea.

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Indiana • Summer 2027

Welcome to Indiana Musicians Abroad