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Mr. John Mitchell
Mr. John H. Mitchell, Director of Bands, founded DeMatha’s Music program in 1970. Mr. Mitchell holds BS and MA degrees in music from the University of Maryland. A former president of the Maryland Band Directors Association, Mr. Mitchell is very active as an adjudicator at band festivals, a clinician, and as guest conductor for honors bands in the Maryland, Virginia, and Pennsylvania areas.
In 1993, Mr. Mitchell was named a "National Educator of Distinction" by the National Catholic Education Association (NCEA). He was one of seven high school educators nationwide selected. In addition, Mr. Mitchell has been a member of the conducting staff at the Tidewater Music Festival, the Mid-East Music Festival (Pittsburgh) and the Maryland Summer Center for the Arts.
Mr. James Roper
Mr. James Roper, Chair of the DeMatha Music Department and Assistant Director of Bands, is a 1980 graduate of the University of Maryland music program. Mr. Roper spent one year as director of bands at Carroll High School before coming to DeMatha in 1982.
He has been member of the conducting staff at the Tidewater Music Festival and conducted the 1991 Maryland Junior All-State Band. He has been the President of the Washington Archdiocesan Music Teachers Council and has served on the Executive Boards of the Maryland Band Directors Association and the Maryland Choral Educators Association.
Mr. James Turk
On DeMatha’s faculty since 1997, Director of Choruses James L. Turk holds three degrees (composition, music education, and choral conducting) from The Ohio State University, and has achieved A.B.D. status at the University of Maryland. Formerly the Leader/Director of the U.S. Navy Sea Chanters in Washington D.C., and Director of the Women’s Glee Club at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, he has conducted choruses in venues from the White House to Hawaii, and in five European countries. He currently serves as Director of Music at Geneva Presbyterian Church in Potomac.
With over thirty-five years experience in music education and performance, Mr. Turk is in frequent demand as a guest conductor, clinician, announcer, church organist, and cocktail pianist. He is the private school representative to the Board of Directors of the Maryland Choral Educators Association
Dr. Michael Gatti
Dr. Michael Gatti, instructor of percussion, holds the degree Doctor of Musical Arts in Percussion Performance from the University of Maryland, College Park. Dr. Gatti teaches private percussion lessons, directs three percussion ensembles, and teaches a course in the history of rock and roll music.
Dr. Gatti is the Associate Principal Percussionist of the Fairfax Symphony Orchestra. Additionally, he is employed as an extra musician in many of the Washington area's professional ensembles, including the National Gallery Orchestra, the Baltimore Chamber Orchestra, and the Annapolis Symphony. In the summer, he serves as the resident theatre percussionist for the Allenberry Playhouse in Boiling Springs, Pennsylvania.
Mr. Matthew Bickel
Mr. Matthew Bickel, Director of Strings and Assistant Band Director, is a 1995 graduate of DeMatha High School. He received his Bachelor's Degree in Music Education and Music Performance from the Eastman School of Music. He received his Master's Degree in Trumpet Performance at the University of Maryland, College Park.
Mr. Bickel is a founding member of the Prism Brass Quintet, which was organized in 1996. As a member of the ensemble, he received the Directors Award in Chamber Music from the Eastman School of Music. The ensemble has performed concerts all over the nation and has held residencies at the Boston University Tanglewood Institute, Chamber Music America's Rural Residency Program and the University of Maryland, College Park. Mr. Bickel has taught both orchestra and band in the Prince Georges County School System.