Greetings Band Alumni!

Download the Alumni Band Homecoming Newsletter 2014 for more exciting information!

College of Musical Arts Alum, Lauren Oberle, hired as the new Orchestra Director at the Parsons (KS) Public and Catholic Schools. Lauren grew up in Sylvania, OH and went to Sylvania Northview High School. She was involved in many events during high school, including honors orchestra, regional orchestra, and Toledo youth orchestra.
I went to BGSU for music education. During her time there, she played violin in the BG Philharmonia and several chamber groups. Lauren also taught in the Music Plus and the PATHE programs. She student taught in Bowling Green schools with Shawn Hudson and spent last year teaching part time general music. Lauren is now teaching K-12 strings in Parsons, KS.

Gregory Snyder is in his 26th year as director of bands in the Lakota School District, West Chester, Ohio. He was at Lakota High School for nine year before moving to Lakota West High School the past 17 years. Snyder directs Symphonic Winds, Symphonic Red Band, Symphonic White Band and the Marching Firebirds. He also assists with two concert bands at Lakota West Freshman School. Previously, he worked in the Clyde-Green Springs (Ohio) School District.

Under Snyder’s direction, the Symphonic Winds has received a superior rating at Class AA Ohio Music Education Association state competition since 1998, and has performed at numerous clinics, festivals and tours in the U.S. and internationally.

The Lakota West Marching Firebirds have earned more than 50 grand champion awards and has performed in such parades as the Hollywood Christmas Parade, the Sugar Bowl, the Waikiki Holiday Parade, the Tournament of Roses Parade, at Disney World and Universal Studios and in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in 2013. They will parade in the 126th Tournament of Roses Parade in 2015.

Snyder has a Bachelor of Arts degree in music from Bowling Green State University, and a master’s degree in music education from VanderCook College of Music, Chicago. He also has done additional work at the College-Conservatory of Music at the University of Cincinnati and Miami University.

Read more about this year CAA Recipients

Dr. Kyle Marrero was appointed the seventh president of the University of West Georgia on July 1, 2013 and has many years of leadership experience in academia and the arts.

He holds both bachelor and master of music degrees from Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, Ohio, and earned his Doctorate of Musical Arts (D.M.A.) in vocal performance from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Marrero also has studied music education and vocal performance at the University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, and Arizona State University, Tempe, as well as the German language at the Goethe-Institute in Munich, Germany.

Prior to his appointment at UWG, Marrero held the position of vice president for University Advancement at the University of West Florida since August 2009. In that position, he provided executive leadership to advance the mission of the university in the areas of alumni relations, development, marketing, communications and the University of West Florida Foundation.

He was given primary responsibility by the university president to lead the university’s effort to achieve the Carnegie Community and Curricular Engagement and Outreach and Partnerships Classification Award for 2015. This goal served as one of the benchmarks of success specifically aligned to engaging in community partnerships that respond to mutual concerns and opportunities and that advance the economy and quality of life in a region.

Under his leadership, the advancement office made significant contributions to a recorded 20 percent increase in enrollment, completed the largest capital campaign in the institution’s history by raising $39.2 million toward a $35 million fundraising goal, and increased the Foundation investment portfolio from $45 to $60 million.

Marrero’s background is in music, and prior to his position as vice president for University Advancement, he served as first the chair of the Department of Music and then as the director of the School of Fine and Performing Arts at the University of West Florida.

Prior to his work at the University of West Florida, Marrero has taught voice, opera and conducting at a number of institutions in Louisiana, Michigan and Ohio.

He previously served as the artistic director of the Pensacola Opera, a position he held since June 2000. During his tenure, the company was recognized for exponential growth and quality. He developed a comprehensive education and outreach program serving 20,000 school children and 10,000 adults in Northwest Florida and received grants from the National Endowment for the Arts and Opera America for programming and education.

Between 1998 and 2002, Marrero was the artistic director of Opera Southwest in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He has produced and directed an extensive number of operas in this facet of his career. Marrero also has served as a judge for a number of opera and vocal competitions and has performed on stage with a number of opera companies worldwide in principal roles, as well as maintaining an extensive career as a recitalist and performer with symphony orchestras.

Marrero is married to opera performer Jane Redding Marrero, and they have a daughter, Lily.