Stately Oaks Music Festival

Scott Terrell has built a major conducting career through imaginative programs, an engaging presence, and a determined passion for artistic excellence, teaching, and viability.  An ardent champion of new music and diversity of repertoire, he was a visionary conductor whose artistry and intellect has engaged musicians, students, and audiences.  Maestro Terrell is Associate Professor of Orchestral Studies, holding the Virginia Martin Howard Chair, at the Louisiana State University School of Music.  

In great demand as a guest conductor, Mr. Terrell will make debuts in 2024-25 with the San Francisco Symphony and Kansas City Symphony.  He will also has return engagements with the Baltimore Symphony, Colorado Symphony, St. Louis Symphony, and the Rochester Philharmonic.  

Passionate about working with aspiring musician and educators, Terrell is an active guest clinician, teacher, and adjudicator.  He has been a regular guest conductor and instructor at the Aspen Music Festival, leading various concert programs as well as guiding and mentoring conducting students.  He has taught internationally at the Sofia Symphonic Summit (Sofia, Bulgaria) and the International Masterclass for Conductors in Schladming, Austria.

In demand as an educator and teacher of young musicians, he has conducted and presented at educational and honor orchestra events in Colorado, New York, Minnesota, Texas, Louisiana, Michigan, and Massachusetts.  

Maestro Terrell has conducted many prestigious international organizations including Philadelphia Orchestra, St. Louis Symphony, Houston Symphony, Pittsburgh Symphony, Vancouver Symphony, National Arts Centre Orchestra Opera Colorado, Opera Hong Kong, Arizona Opera, Minnesota Opera, Minnesota Orchestra, Rotterdam Philharmonic, Hong Kong Sinfonietta, Milwaukee Symphony, Spoleto Festival, Naples Philharmonic, Eugene Symphony, Richmond Symphony, and the Mostly Modern Festival.  

Having a strong affinity for vocal and operatic repertoire, Maestro Terrell has led a wealth of projects abroad.  Collaborations with Kentucky Opera have included Stephen Paulus’ oratorio, To Be Certain of the Dawn, Bernstein’s Trouble in Tahiti, Humperdinck’s Hansel and Gretel and Osvaldo Golijov’s Ainadamar.  Operatic engagements have included Opera Hong Kong gala concerts of Bernstein, and Arizona Opera’s production of The Magic Flute.  He conducted Piazzolla’s Maria de Buenos Aires at Fort Worth Opera, Aspen Music Festival and Arizona Opera as well as Aspen’s concert productions of Bernstein’s Trouble in Tahiti and Missy Mazzoli’s groundbreaking work, Proving Up.  

Mr. Terrell was Music Director of the Lexington Philharmonic for a transformative decade (2009-2019) in the organization’s history.  He re-invigorated and raised the artistic level of the ensemble, diversified programming, expanded collaborations, and increased community support.

Previously, Maestro Terrell served as Resident Conductor and Director of Education for the Charleston Symphony Orchestra, and prior to that was Assistant Conductor of Minnesota Orchestra.  A native of Michigan, Maestro Terrell is a graduate of Western Michigan University, and the University of Minnesota in orchestral conducting.  Terrell was chosen as a fellowship conductor for the inaugural season of the American Academy of Conducting at the Aspen Music Festival under Music Director, David Zinman.  He has participated in master classes with such distinguished conductors as Leonard Slatkin, Robert Spano, Jorma Panula, and David Robertson.  At Aspen, he was awarded the prestigious Conducting Prize from David Zinman.

Damon Talley serves as Director of Bands and Paula G. Manship Professor of Conducting at the Louisiana State University School of Music, where he oversees all aspects of the LSU Department of Bands, conducts the Wind Ensemble and teaches graduate conducting. The nationally recognized Band Department at LSU serves as an integral component of the thriving School of Music. Under his leadership, the Department has established an annual conducting symposium, high school and middle school camps that serve hundreds of students annually, and numerous outreach events for public school educators. The Golden Band From Tigerland marching band has been featured at national conferences on multiple occasions, and most recently, the LSU Wind Ensemble performed at the College Band Directors National Association national convention. Dr. Talley is a strong supporter and advocate of music in the public schools. He regularly serves as a guest conductor, clinician, and adjudicator throughout the United States and abroad, including engagements in Germany, Switzerland, England, and Spain, among others.

The LSU Wind Ensemble has released multiple recordings on the Equilibrium Label and continues to commission and record new compositions regularly. Dr. Talley has recorded on Best Classical Records and received favorable reviews from publications including Gramophone magazine and the American Record Guide. He has served as producer or associate producer on commercial recordings by the Naxos, Klavier, and Equilibrium record labels, and is published in the Teaching Music Through Performance in Band series, distributed by GIA Publications.

As an avid supporter of new music for the wind medium, Dr. Talley has conducted numerous world premier performances, and has commissioned composers to write for the wind band. He has won praise for his work by composers such as William Bolcom, Steven Mackey, Kevin Puts, Joseph Schwantner, David Maslanka, Donald Grantham, and Michael Daugherty, among others. He regularly hosts visiting composers of national and international status on the campus of LSU, and is a strong advocate for young composers, often premiering pieces by student composers. Dr. Talley is currently the National Chair for the New Works Committee of CBDNA as well as the Chair for the Commissioning Committee for the SEC Band Directors Association.

Prior to his appointment at LSU, Dr. Talley held the position of Director of Bands at Shenandoah Conservatory, where he was responsible for guiding the wind band program, conducting the EDGE New Music Ensemble, and teaching graduate conducting. He has also taught on the faculties at The University of Texas at Austin and the University of Michigan. Prior to teaching at the university level, Dr. Talley taught in the public schools in Texas at both the middle school and high school levels. He earned the Master of Music degree in Wind Conducting from the University of Michigan, and the Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Wind Conducting from The University of Texas. His principal conducting teachers are Jerry Junkin, Michael Haithcock, and H. Robert Reynolds. Dr. Talley is an elected member of the American Bandmasters Association, Phi Beta Mu, an honorary member of Kappa Kappa Psi and Tau Beta Sigma, and holds professional memberships in the College Band Directors National Association, the Louisiana Music Educators Association, and the Texas Music Educators Association Educators Association. He is also an Educational Consultant and Clinician for the Conn-Selmer Corporation.

Simon Holoweiko is the Associate Director of Bands at Louisiana State University, where he conducts the Symphonic Winds, teaches undergraduate conducting and graduate wind literature, guides doctoral students minoring in conducting, and works with the Golden Band from Tigerland. Holoweiko joined the faculty following successful appointments at Michigan State University and Martin County High School in Stuart, Florida. 

After serving as Assistant Director of Bands at MSU, where his duties included Associate Director of the Spartan Marching Band, conductor of the Concert Band, Spartan Youth Wind Symphony, and teaching courses in the College of Music, Holoweiko completed his Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA) degree in Wind Conducting at Michigan State University as a student of Dr. Kevin Sedatole. He also holds the Master of Music degree in Wind Conducting from the Schwob School of Music at Columbus State University where he studied with Dr. Jamie L. Nix and assisted with all aspects of the wind program.

Prior to his graduate studies, Holoweiko taught in the Florida public schools as the Director of Bands at Martin County High School (Stuart). At Martin County, he coordinated all aspects of the band program including instruction of the marching band, two concert ensembles, and also founded a curricular jazz band and AP music theory course. He is also the conductor and a co-founder of the Treasure Coast Summer Band Camp in Jensen Beach, FL and is an active clinician. He holds a Bachelor of Music Education degree from Michigan State University.

Holoweiko is an honorary member of Kappa Kappa Psi and holds professional membership in the College Band Directors National Association and the National Association for Music Education.

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David Saccardi is Assistant Professor of Music Education at Louisiana State University, where he directs graduate research and teaches courses in the psychology of music, graduate string pedagogy, quantitative analysis, and experimental design. Additionally, he teaches courses in the undergraduate music teacher preparation sequence, including methods of string performance and secondary instrumental methods, a course that includes a fieldwork partnership with the University Laboratory School.

Dr. Saccardi’s research interests lie at the intersection of music and science. Through collaborations across the LSU campus with departments such as cognitive psychology and educational technology, he and his collaborators examine questions related to music cognition and perception, applications of artificial intelligence (AI) in teaching and learning, and the psychology of music. In 2023, he was selected as an LSU Faculty Fellow in Artificial Intelligence and Data Analytics, where he worked with a multi-disciplinary team from across the LSU campus to develop novel AI interventions to help with academic performance in gateway courses and undergraduate student retention. 

Additionally, his research in music education as a member of the Translational Research in Music Group (TRMG) examines peer-assisted learning in music classrooms, parental involvement in music instruction, pedagogical topics in string education, and local issues pertaining to music education in Louisiana. His work has been published in a number of peer-reviewed journals, including String Research Journal, Bulletin of the Council for Research in Music Education, and Update: Applications of Research in Music Education. He currently serves on the editorial boards for Update: Applications of Research in Music Education and American String Teacher, and has been a guest reviewer for Bulletin of the Council for Research in Music Education.

Prior to joining the faculty at LSU, Saccardi taught middle and high school orchestra in Loveland, Colorado and was the orchestra director at Hummingbird Music Camp in New Mexico. Orchestras under his direction were ranked consistently as superior at state music contests and musical theatre productions under his music direction were nominated for numerous awards. He has also performed on double bass with regional orchestras in Colorado, Wyoming, and Texas and has been an active double bass studio teacher since 2003. He is an active string adjudicator and clinician, having worked with orchestras around the United States, and has presented research and clinic sessions at the national conferences for the American String Teachers’ Association (ASTA) and the Suzuki Association of the Americas in addition to several state music education conferences. He currently serves as President for the Louisiana Chapter of ASTA.

Dr. Saccardi has taught previously at the University of Texas at Austin and at Our Lady of the Lake University in San Antonio, Texas. In 2016, he was recognized by the Colorado Chapter of the American String Teachers’ Association as the Exemplary Secondary Orchestra Director for the State of Colorado. He holds degrees from the University of Texas at Austin (PhD - Music and Human Learning), the University of Michigan (MME), and Colorado State University (BM - Double Bass & Music Education).