Gregory X. Whitmore
Guest Conductor
Gregory Xavier Whitmore is music director of Pacific Symphony Youth Wind Ensemble. Whitmore is also director of bands at Mt. San Antonio College in Walnut, Calif. These appointments follow a 13-year career as director of bands at Cathedral City High School in the Palm Springs Unified School District, and a career as conductor of the College of the Desert Symphony Band in Palm Desert, Calif. Whitmore, a native of Ypsilanti, Michigan, received his bachelor’s degree in instrumental music education from The University of Michigan School of Music, Theater and Dance in Ann Arbor, Mich. While a student at The University of Michigan, Whitmore actively performed in the University of Michigan Concert and Symphony Bands and he led the University of Michigan Marching Band as “Michigan’s Man Up Front” - Drum Major - from 1999-2001. Whitmore received his master's degree in music with an emphasis in wind conducting from California State University, Fullerton, studying under Dr. Mitchell Fennell. Whitmore is currently a doctoral candidate at Columbia University in the city of New York.
Whitmore has conducted ensembles in such notable concert venues as The Kennedy Center (Washington D.C.), Carnegie Hall (New York City), Walt Disney Concert Hall (Los Angeles), Meng Hall (Fullerton, California), Holy Trinity Church (Stratford, England), St. John’s Smith Square (London, England), Chateau Vaux le Vicomte (Paris, France) and Heidelberg Castle (Heidelberg, Germany). Under Whitmore’s direction, the Cathedral City High School Symphony Band was selected to perform as the showcase ensemble during the 2008 California Band Directors Association Annual Convention, and the Cathedral City High School Marching Band has garnered numerous awards and performed on national television three times (2010, 2007 and 2005).
Whitmore belongs to several professional organizations that include College Band Directors National Association, Phoenix Honorary Leadership Society, Kappa Kappa Psi Honorary Band Fraternity, Alpha Delta Phi Fraternity, Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia Fraternity, Pi Kappa Lambda Honor Society, The National Association for Music Education, Southern California School Band and Orchestra Association and California Music Educators Association. Whitmore is a contributor to the 2013 GIA publication, Musicianship: Composing in Band and Orchestra.
A recognized member of four editions of Who’s Who Among America’s Teachers, Whitmore has been included in the 2005-06 Edition of the National Honor Roll’s “Outstanding American Teachers.” Whitmore is a Cathedral City Chamber of Commerce Golden Apple Educator Award Recipient and Orion Award Recipient for Excellence in Education. Whitmore was selected to represent the State of California by School Band and Orchestra Magazine in the 2008 edition of “50 Band Directors Who Make a Difference.”
Biography and photograph courtesy of the Pacific Symphony. Click here to view the original post.