Enabling youth to lead
The Mountain West Leadership Institute began in 2021 as a direct result of COVID. With many students in the state of Utah unable to attend the other leadership camps around the country, American Fork High School - with the help of the Utah Bandmasters Association - stepped in to offer a comparable leadership opportunity to the students in the mountain west.
The institute immediately set out to find the best clinicians to help educate students in leadership. Joel Denton was immediately contacted to head up the leadership and curriculum of the institute. The curriculum was set up to teach students the basics of service leadership and give students tools to take back to their band programs to help students and programs to be more successful. In addition to leadership skills, the institute also recognized the needs of students who would be running sectionals, teaching fundamentals, and other leadership tasks. For this reason at the leadership institute, we focus on giving students the opportunity to run sectionals, learn how to teach marching fundamentals, and other useful skills students will need to use during their season.
After 2 years of existence, the Leadership Institute has grown to incorporate not only drum majors but all leadership positions. There is also a track devoted completely to colorguard and the development of their service-oriented leadership and technique skills on flag, rifle, and saber. Each year we welcome hundreds of students from over 30 different schools from around the mountain west.
In 2023 the institute will welcome back Joel Denton as our Leadership Director. We will also welcome back Col Don Schofield, Director of the U.S. Air Force Band in Washington D.C. who offers a unique perspective to leadership with his years of military service. We are also happy to welcome Mr. Bobby Lambert, Director of Bands at the nationally acclaimed Wando High School in South Carolina. Mr. Lambert is a highly respected and sought-after clinician and will be heading up the drum major track. The colorguard track is championed by some of the best names in the colorguard world. It is with great joy that we introduce Jennifer Leseth and Rosie Queen (Miller) to head up the colorguard track. These two women are the epitome of colorguard. They are the most sought-after clinicians around the country to teach both leadership and technique to colorguard. Both have impressive resumes of working with the who's who of high schools, drum corps, and winter guards from around the country. It will be hard to find this kind of education anywhere in the country in terms of leadership and colorguard.
We look forward to the Mountain West Leadership Institute becoming the destination for all leadership and colorguard in the Rockies for years to come.
MEET YOUR INSTITUTE STAFF
Orien Landis
Institute Director
Orien Landis is the Director of Bands at American Fork High School since 2019. During his time as Director of Bands, he has been able to maintain the long-standing tradition of excellence at American Fork High School. The marching band has won the Utah State Marching Band Championships each year under his direction. Along with top honors at state, the band has won the Bands Of American Utah Regional 3 times. in 2022 the band was 13th place at Bands of America Grand Nationals in Indianapolis, Indiana. In addition to his marching band responsibilities, Mr. Landis leads and directs 3 concert bands, the top jazz band, and beginning brass classes at American Fork Junior High.
Joel Denton
Clinician
It Joel L. Denton served as Director of Bands at Ooltewah High School for thirty-seven years. Mr. Denton is a graduate of the University of Tennessee and has completed graduate studies at UT-Chattanooga. Mr. Denton currently serves as an adjunct instructor of Instrumental Music Education at Lee University. Prior to his retirement in 2018, he was recognized as a CMA Music Teacher of Excellence. At the 2015 Midwest Clinic, Mr. Denton was awarded the John Phillip Sousa Foundation Legion of Honor for his contributions to band.
Jennifer Leseth
Clinician
IJennifer is a Chicago native with 35-plus years of performance, instruction, and design experience in the pageantry arts.
Her teaching and design experience includes serving as color guard caption head for Bluecoats, Crossmen, Madison Scouts, Carolina Crown, Phantom Regiment, and Santa Clara Vanguard. On a high school level, she has had the honor of leading the color guard programs at Marian Catholic, Plymouth Canton, Spring High School, Winston Churchill, LD Bell, Flower Mound, and Lincoln-Way Community School.
Don Schofield
Clinician
Colonel Don Schofield is the commander and conductor of The United States Air Force Band. He is responsible for all activities of this 184-member squadron, including equipping, training, and deploying Airmen musicians to perform nearly 1,600 missions each year. Schofield recently completed command with the United States Air Forces in Europe Band stationed at Ramstein Air Base, Germany, where he oversaw and directed more than 400 missions annually across Europe and Africa in a 104-nation area of responsibility
Rosie Queen
Clinician
Rosie Queen (Miller) has been active in the world of pageantry since 1983.
For 16 years, she served as the director at Carmel H.S., where she built the program with an incredible team from 2003-2019. Carmel H.S. has won 5 WGI World Championships, 8 consecutive IHSCGA State Championships, and 5 BOA Grand National titles under her care. The program also grew from one with no winter guard program to one with 3 color guards and 100 eager students during Rosie’s direction.
Bobby Lambert
Clinician
Bobby is Director of Bands at Wando High School in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina. From 2001-2013, Mr. Lambert was the assistant band director at Marian Catholic High School in Chicago Heights, Illinois where the marching band was a consistent finalist at the Bands of America Grand National Championships and a repeat winner of the 2A National Championship. At the state level, the band continued its winning streak as the Class Champion for the Illinois Marching Band Championship began in 1980.
Since 1997, Mr. Lambert has directed student leadership camps around the country. In 2013, Mr. Lambert headed the inaugural Bands of America Drum Major Institute at Ball State University as part of the BOA Summer Symposium. Over 1000 high school students participate in various leadership programs with Mr. Lambert each summer. In 2017, he began the Charleston Band Director Institute which brings high school and middle school conductors to the campus of Wando to work with high school students as well as clinicians such as Greg Bimm on the art and craft of band direction.
In addition to serving as a consultant with several programs across the country, Mr. Lambert has worked with the All-American Marching Band sponsored by the U.S. Army and the Bands of America Tournament of Roses Marching Band. He has also served as guest conductor for honor bands in several states including Texas, Ohio, Florida, Georgia, Virginia, and Illinois.
The Bands of Wando have continued to thrive under the direction of Mr. Lambert and his fellow directors. Since his arrival in 2014, the marching band has won every state championship for which it has competed (2015, 17, and 19) and placed at BOA Grand Nationals each appearance (2014-7th, 2016-8th, 2018-6th).