WBDI
Mentorship
The Mentorship Committee of Women Band Directors International is a dedicated group of experienced music educators passionate about mentoring the next generation of women band directors. Our mission as a committee is to provide support to empower the next generation of women band directors, including but not limited to:
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Creating professional development opportunities for members of WBDI through conversation, coaching, visits, sharing of resources, ideas and experience
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Fostering positive relationships amongst the women of our profession that will lead to the sharing of wisdom, experience, and encouragement that promote teaching/making music at a high level, program development, and professional longevity
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Collaborating as women in the field of band directorship in projects that promote connectivity and growth as a community
As many of us were the first women in our current band director positions, our goal is to not be the last.
Julia Baumanis -- Co-Chair
I have been the first women director in any position I have held, from teaching middle school orchestra, high school band, and both her collegiate band director positions. I also have never had a female music teacher in any capacity, honor bands, middle school/high school directors, and college directors. As the daughter of immigrant parents, I also have certainly never had a Filipino director! That being said, it's sometimes baffling to me how I never gave up as I have literally never seen someone like me in my position. However, what I did have was INCREDIBLE mentors, teachers and colleagues who helped me see my superpowers in teaching and conducting and helped me get to where they knew I would thrive. As co-chair of the WBDI Mentorship Committee, I wish to “pay it forward.” I hope our work as a committee ensures that no matter what you look like, no matter where you come from, even if you never see anyone else like you on the podium, you too can feel like you belong with the support of a mentor. Keep going and look forward! -JLB
BIO: Dr. Julia Baumanis is Assistant Professor of Practice serving as Associate Director of Bands at Rutgers University, Mason Gross School of the Arts and is the first female conductor at Rutgers in the university’s over 250 year history. Her duties include serving as the Conductor of the Rutgers Symphony Band, Assistant Director of the Marching Scarlet Knights, Director of Pep Bands, and teaching courses in instrumental conducting and music education. Prior to this appointment, Dr. Baumanis served as the Assistant Director of Bands and Director of Athletic Bands at the University of Central Missouri. She is also the co-author/curator of the book GO ON! Tell Your Story: Voices of Women Band Directors (GIA Publications), which features the shared experiences of 100 women band directors in hopes of fostering the next generation of women in the wind conducting field. Dr. Baumanis also serves within the music community as a member of the Education and Repertoire Committee for the World Association for Symphonic Bands and Ensembles (WASBE), as Mentorship Co-Chair for Women Band Directors International (WBDI), on the Educational Advisory Committee for Music For All, and as Artistic Director of the New Brunswick Chamber Orchestra, a professional orchestra that has musically served her area for the past 62 years.
Brittan Braddock - Co-Chair
I am excited to be Co-Chair of this committee as I think mentorship, relationships, and idea sharing are essential to what we do. I know that I wouldn’t be doing what I am now without my incredible mentors (who I still call upon as I navigate our profession). Like many of us, I am the first woman to hold most of my positions and do so proudly. It has been an incredible journey so far, and I feel emboldened by the women in our profession and hopeful when I look at BME programs and conducting programs filled with talented women conductors. We still have a lot of work to do. I see this committee as an opportunity to give back and encourage the next generation to keep striving forward!
Bio: Dr. Brittan Braddock is the Director of Bands and Coordinator of Music Education at Mercer University’s Townsend School of Music in Macon, GA. She completed her D.M.A. in Wind Conducting and Literature at the University of Colorado Boulder after earning her M.A. in Wind Conducting from Indiana University of Pennsylvania and Bachelor of Music Education (B.M.E.) from Concordia University Chicago. She comes to Mercer from the University of West Florida’s Dr. Grier Williams School of Music, where she served as visiting assistant professor, director of bands and music education. She is active nationally and internationally as a conductor, clinician, presenter, clarinetist, and adjudicator. Passionate about mentoring the next generation of conductors, she is a co-chair of the mentorship committee through Women Band Directors International. As a clarinetist, she has performed with the Pensacola Symphony Orchestra Winds, the International Youth Wind Ensemble, and at Carnegie Hall with the National Youth Wind Orchestra. She taught music and band in the public school systems in Chicago, IL. and Westcliffe, CO. and is dedicated to inspiring young musicians and future music educators.
