District Band
Please Contact Butch Owens for any questions related to District Band.
District/Conference Band Dates
October 21st, 2022 - 11:59 PM - Auditions Registrations Due
November 8th, 2022 - 5:00 PM - All-District Band Auditions at Carthage HS
January 6, 2023 - 5:00-9:00 PM - All-District Band/Conference Band Rehearsal at Joplin HS
January 7, 2023 - 9:00-12:00 AND 1:30-3:30 All-District Band/Conference Band Rehearsal at Joplin HS
January 7, 2023 - 4:30 PM - All-District Band/Conference Band Performance at Joplin HS
October 21st, 2022 - 11:59 PM - Auditions Registrations Due
November 8th, 2022 - 5:00 PM - All-District Band Auditions at Carthage HS
January 6, 2023 - 5:00-9:00 PM - All-District Band/Conference Band Rehearsal at Joplin HS
January 7, 2023 - 9:00-12:00 AND 1:30-3:30 All-District Band/Conference Band Rehearsal at Joplin HS
January 7, 2023 - 4:30 PM - All-District Band/Conference Band Performance at Joplin HS
2022-2023 District Band Clinician

Dr. Craig Fuchs - Pittsburg State University
Dr. Craig Fuchs is a University Professor of Music at Pittsburg State University. During his 24-year tenure at PSU, he served as Director of Bands, Chair of the Department of Music, Interim Chair of the Department of Art, Director of the Honors College, and Director of the Bachelor of General Studies Program. Dr. Fuchs holds degrees in music education from Missouri Western State University and the University of Missouri-Columbia. He holds a Doctorate of Musical Arts in Wind Conducting from the University of Missouri-Kansas City Conservatory of Music. Dr. Fuchs had ten years of teaching experience in the public schools of Kansas and Missouri prior to moving to the collegiate level.
In the musical realm, Dr. Fuchs has had numerous articles published in The Instrumentalist magazine. Under his leadership, the PSU Wind Ensemble performed at the 2006, 2009, 2011 and 2016 KMEA Music Conventions. Dr. Fuchs is in high demand as a conductor/clinician for regional and district honor bands as well as maintaining an active schedule as an adjudicator in the marching band arena each fall. Fuchs served from 2017-2022 as the Conductor and Artistic Director of the Four State Symphonic Winds, an adult band from the four-state region. This ensemble recently performed at the 81st Missouri Music Educators Association Conference in January of 2019.
Dr. Fuchs' international conducting and adjudication experiences have taken him to England, France, The Netherlands, Brazil, and Paraguay. Fuchs was a guest conductor with the Orquesta Sinfonica Nacional de Paraguay in Ascuncion, Paraguay in 2009, 2010, and 2013. As a guest of the orchestra and the US Embassy in Paraguay, Fuchs conducted one of the subscription series concerts of this ensemble each summer. While in Paraguay, he was also invited to work with the Conservatory Band and the National Police Band. In 2013, Fuchs served as the Festival Orchestra Conductor of the 3rd FADA International Music Festival. In the spring of 2019 he was invited to conduct a concert with the Banda Sinfonica Policia Nacional de Paraguay, which is the official band of the National Police of Paraguay. In November of 2010, Fuchs traveled to Forteleza, Brazil where he appeared as guest conductor of the Orquestra de Camara Eleazar de Carvalho, a professional chamber orchestra in northeast Brazil. In addition, he also conducted two concerts of the Pindoretama Wind Orchestra, a student orchestra based in Pindoretama, Brazil. Fuchs made a return trip to Brazil in 2018 where he once again conducted concerts with the ensemble. Dr. Fuchs was awarded the Distinguished Alumni Award from Missouri Western State University in October of 2010 and was honored with the Robert K. Ratzlaff Outstanding Faculty Award in 2001 and 2012 by the Student Government Association from student nominees of faculty that demonstrate excellence in instruction and service to students on campus.
Dr. Craig Fuchs is a University Professor of Music at Pittsburg State University. During his 24-year tenure at PSU, he served as Director of Bands, Chair of the Department of Music, Interim Chair of the Department of Art, Director of the Honors College, and Director of the Bachelor of General Studies Program. Dr. Fuchs holds degrees in music education from Missouri Western State University and the University of Missouri-Columbia. He holds a Doctorate of Musical Arts in Wind Conducting from the University of Missouri-Kansas City Conservatory of Music. Dr. Fuchs had ten years of teaching experience in the public schools of Kansas and Missouri prior to moving to the collegiate level.
In the musical realm, Dr. Fuchs has had numerous articles published in The Instrumentalist magazine. Under his leadership, the PSU Wind Ensemble performed at the 2006, 2009, 2011 and 2016 KMEA Music Conventions. Dr. Fuchs is in high demand as a conductor/clinician for regional and district honor bands as well as maintaining an active schedule as an adjudicator in the marching band arena each fall. Fuchs served from 2017-2022 as the Conductor and Artistic Director of the Four State Symphonic Winds, an adult band from the four-state region. This ensemble recently performed at the 81st Missouri Music Educators Association Conference in January of 2019.
Dr. Fuchs' international conducting and adjudication experiences have taken him to England, France, The Netherlands, Brazil, and Paraguay. Fuchs was a guest conductor with the Orquesta Sinfonica Nacional de Paraguay in Ascuncion, Paraguay in 2009, 2010, and 2013. As a guest of the orchestra and the US Embassy in Paraguay, Fuchs conducted one of the subscription series concerts of this ensemble each summer. While in Paraguay, he was also invited to work with the Conservatory Band and the National Police Band. In 2013, Fuchs served as the Festival Orchestra Conductor of the 3rd FADA International Music Festival. In the spring of 2019 he was invited to conduct a concert with the Banda Sinfonica Policia Nacional de Paraguay, which is the official band of the National Police of Paraguay. In November of 2010, Fuchs traveled to Forteleza, Brazil where he appeared as guest conductor of the Orquestra de Camara Eleazar de Carvalho, a professional chamber orchestra in northeast Brazil. In addition, he also conducted two concerts of the Pindoretama Wind Orchestra, a student orchestra based in Pindoretama, Brazil. Fuchs made a return trip to Brazil in 2018 where he once again conducted concerts with the ensemble. Dr. Fuchs was awarded the Distinguished Alumni Award from Missouri Western State University in October of 2010 and was honored with the Robert K. Ratzlaff Outstanding Faculty Award in 2001 and 2012 by the Student Government Association from student nominees of faculty that demonstrate excellence in instruction and service to students on campus.