May 7, 2008 - 7:30 p.m.
Community Concert Band
20th Anniversary Concert
Ham Performing Arts Center
As Director of Bands, and Professor of Conducting, Thomas Leslie has earned recognition for high quality performances of the UNLV Bands. During his tenure at UNLV, his bands have received critical acclaim from members of the international music world. Such notables include composer Malcolm Arnold, United States Marine Band Conductor Emeritus Colonel John Bourgeois, (Ret.), United States Navy Band Conductor Commander John Pastin (Ret.), Dr. Harry Begian, Director Emeritus, University of Illinois, Grammy Award winning recording artists Eric Marienthal, Jimmy Haslip, Will Kennedy and Russell Ferrante.
Recognized for a fresh, interpretative style among collegiate wind orchestras, Thomas Leslie and the UNLV Wind Orchestra continue to excel in their commitment to commission new works by the next generation of the world’s finest young composers. This ensemble, under Mr. Leslie’s baton, has premiered numerous pieces commissioned by UNLV, Professor Leslie and the Wind Orchestra. Mr. Leslie has recently conducted, and recorded twelve compact disc recordings with the UNLV Wind Orchestra. They are: 1994 – The UNLV Wind Symphony; Ghost Train; Gawd$illa Eats Las Vegas; It Takes a Village; Monkey; No Mo’ Chalumeau, and Chunk (all title tracks commissioned by Thomas Leslie), BCM… Saves the World all on the Mark Records label, Bandanna, the complete Daron Hagen opera on Albany Records, 3 Steps Forward, the premiere disc in the new UNLV Wind Orchestra Series for Klavier Recordings, Spiritual Planet, and 4 Flew Over the Hornet’s Nest, the newest release in that collection. All of these recordings have received noteworthy acclaim in professional journals in addition to high praise from colleagues throughout the world.
As an adjudicator and conductor in 40 states nationally, and the District of Columbia, Professor Leslie has also been invited to conduct performances and clinics internationally in Australia, Ireland, Japan, England, Scotland, France, Switzerland, Austria, Germany, and Canada. Under his direction, the UNLV Wind Orchestra has appeared as an invited performing group at the College Band Directors National Association Conference in March 1994, the Music Educators National Conference Biennial Convention in April 1998, the American Bandmasters Association National Convention in March 2001, and numerous state music educator conferences. The UNLV Wind Orchestra performed as the featured ensemble at the Hokkaido Band Association Clinic in Sapporo, Japan, in May, 2002, and recently returned from a multiple performance tour at the La Croix Valmer International Music Festival in St, Tropez, France in June, 2005. Professor Leslie is the founder and Musical Director for the new Las Vegas Youth Wind Orchestra, an honor ensemble comprised of Las Vegas’ most accomplished wind and percussion musicians.
Thomas Leslie received degrees in Music Education from The University of Iowa and Indiana State University. Professor Leslie was elected as a member of the prestigious American Bandmasters Association in 1997 and in March 2001 he hosted the National Convention of this very distinguished group. He continues to be a long-standing member of both the College Band Directors National Association, the Music Educators National Conference, has served as Western Division Chair for the National Band Association and was recently appointed to the Board of Directors for the John Philip Sousa Foundation in Washington, D. C.