gclemons@harpercollege.edu
847.925.6569
Building P, Room P207
Gregory Clemons is Professor of Music, Chair of the Department of Music, and Resident Conductor at Harper College in suburban Chicago, Illinois. Prior to his appointment at Harper in the spring of 1999, he held similar faculty positions at Texas Christian University, the University of New Mexico, Eastern Illinois University, and directed award-winning ensembles in the public schools of Kansas. In addition to his duties as department chair, Clemons conducts the Wind Symphony and Chamber Winds, teaches courses in the Department of Music, and serves as an at-large member of the Harper Faculty Senate. Ensembles under his direction have appeared throughout the United States and in several foreign countries and have frequently been invited to perform at state, regional, national, and international professional conferences, including the Music Educators National Conference, Texas Music Educators Association, New Mexico Music Educators Association, Japan Bandmasters Association, and as part of the critically acclaimed concert series in New York's legendary Carnegie Hall. He holds degrees in music education and conducting from the University of Kansas and California State University (with distinction). Professor Clemons maintains a busy schedule as conductor, clinician, adjudicator, and lecturer throughout the United States along with appearances in several foreign countries. He has commissioned and conducted the premiere performances of numerous works and is well known as an advocate of new music.
In addition to his activities as a conductor, administrator and teacher, Professor Clemons has continued to be active as a professional trumpeter and has appeared frequently with orchestras, bands, and other ensembles around the country with such diverse conductors, composers, and musicians as Aaron Copland, Itzhak Perlman, André Watts, Gerard Schwarz, Barry Tuckwell, Armando Ghitalla, Cab Calloway, Clark Terry, John Lewis, Gary Foster, and many others. He hold membership in numerous professional organizations including the Music Educators National Conference, College Band Directors National Association, National Band Association, College Music Society, and Illinois Music Educators Association. He is an elected member of Pi Kappa Lambda and Phi Beta Mu, and holds honorary membership in Kappa Kappa Psi, Tau Beta Sigma, and Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia. Professor Clemons can be heard in performances as a conductor and trumpeter on compact discs from Reference Recordings and Mark Records.
Apart from his professional activities in music, Professor Clemons is a member of the Community Advisory Board of Network Chicago's WTTW Channel 11, and the Members Advisory Board for the Illinois State Universities Retirement System. He is also on the Executive Committee for the Illinois Community College Faculty Association where he serves as director of the ICCFA Scholarship Program. Most recently, he was elected to a fourth term on the Board of Directors for the Illinois Council of Orchestras. He and his wife Susan, a public school band director, reside in suburban Chicago with their two sons; John, age 21 (clarinet, piano, and bass); and Ben, age 17 (trumpet and piano).
