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Stephen L. Gage has served as Professor of Music and Director of Bands at Youngstown State University and as the Edward Zacharias Memorial Chair/Conductor of the Youngstown Symphony Youth Orchestra since 1993, and he began serving as assistant conductor of the YSU/Dana Symphony
Orchestra in 2006.  For the academic year 2008-09, Dr. Gage was the principal conductor of the YSU/Dana Symphony Orchestra. He holds
degrees from the University of Illinois, the Eastman School of Music, and State University of New York at Fredonia where he also earned the Performers Certificate in Percussion.  Stephen has studied conducting with Harry John Brown, Donald Hunsberger, David Effron, Roy Ernst, James Keene, H. Robert Reynolds, and Paul Vermel.

In addition to his conducting career, Dr. Gage has performed with the Erie Philharmonic (PA), the Champaign-Urbana Symphony Orchestra (IL),
the Youngstown Symphony Orchestra, and the Jimmy Dorsey Jazz Orchestra; and he was a marimba concerto soloist with the Fredonia Symphony Orchestra. He served a four-year term on the Board of Advisors for the St. Patrick's Day Festival in Dublin, Ireland.  Ensembles under his
direction have performed at state music conventions in New York, Kansas, and Ohio, for the MENC Biennial Convention in Nashville, for
CBDNA Conventions, and in NYC’s acclaimed Carnegie Hall.

Stephen has written numerous publications on conducting, rehearsal techniques, and literature, and is an active wind band and orchestral
guest conductor, clinician, and adjudicator of international repute having guest conducted and cliniced throughout the United States, and
in Canada and Ireland. Dr. Gage has recently served as a guest conductor for the Youngstown Symphony Orchestra, the W.D. Packard Concert Band, the U.S. Army Band: Pershing’s Own, the U.S. Army Field
Band, the University of Miami (FL) Wind Ensemble, the University of Nebraska: Omaha Wind Ensemble, and for numerous all-state and regional
honors orchestras and wind bands. 

Professor Gage has received critical acclaim from a number of distinguished composers, including Joseph Schwanter, Samuel Adler, Karel Husa, Donald Grantham, Frank Ticheli, and David Gillingham, for his interpretation, performance and recordings of their music. Dr. Gage’s professional affiliations include memberships in the CBDNA, NBA, OMEA/MENC, Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia, Sigma Alpha Iota, Conductors Guild, Kappa Delta Pi, Phi Beta Mu, and Phi Kappa Phi. In 1999, Stephen was
inducted into the prestigious American Bandmasters Association and was named Distinguished Professor at YSU. He and the YSU Wind Ensemble made their NYC Carnegie Hall debut in 2005.  With the YSU Wind Ensemble,
Gage has released and produced six CD’s since 1998.  The last of these, Urban Requiem, was issued in June 2008 by the NAXOS Recording Label;
NAXOS is considered the world’s largest classical on-line recording label and distributor.  Stephen lives in Poland with his wife, Stephanie. and two of his three children, Claudia and Brendan. His son,
Matthew, lives in Austin, Texas. 

Kevin York, recently the Visiting Professor-Assistant Director of Bands at Grand Valley State University in Allendale, Michigan, has accepted the job, Director of the 2009 YSU Marching Pride.  Mr. York comes to this position with a wonderful resume of accomplishments with bands on
the football field and concert stage.

Originally from northwestern Michigan, Mr. York earned the BME, trumpet applied, at Grand Valley State University. Subsequently, he was a
successful high school band director in that region of Michigan.  Following this position, Mr. York accepted a residency to pursue and
earn the MM in Conducting at Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Texas.  During that time, he wrote and taught drills with TTU's highly acclaimed 400+ member marching band.  During his second year at the
University, TTU's football bowl game halftime show was the one designed by Mr. York. 

Subsequent to the earning of his masters degree, Kevin was appointed as Visiting Professor/Associate Director of Bands at Mississippi State
University where he conducted their concert band and directed their marching band.  That residency was created because the MSU marching band director took a one year sabbatical to do a doctoral residency off the MSU campus.  Kevin's work at MSU was, once again, exemplary.

For the past three years, Mr. York has served as the Visiting
Professor/Assistant Director of Bands at Grand Valley State University, his alma mater.  All of the faculty at GVSU respected and admired his work and although another person was offered their newly formed
tenure-track position for 2009-2010, Mr. York comes to us highly recommended and was credited with doing great work in marching band,
concert band, music technology, and music education at Grand Valley State Univeristy.  The tenure track job at GVSU had a
'doctorate-required' criteria.  Thus, Mr. York has tentative plans to go the University of Kentucky in August 2010, to do his doctoral residency and to pursue the DMA in Conducting degree.

Kevin York is a highly accomplished drill designer and has great plans and ideas for the fall 2009 YSU Marching Pride.  He will be relocating in the Youngstown area in early July with his wife, Dr. Molly York. 
Dr. Molly York completed the DMA in Flute Performance at Texas Tech University earlier this month.  We look forward to Mr. York leading our
marching band this fall and to his joining the Dana faculty!