Board of Directors

Starting piano lessons before the first grade, Don picked up the trumpet in the 4th grade and continues as a performing musician (now on euphonium) in his busy retirement. Don completed his Bachelor of Music Education Degree (1965) and his MME (1968) at Indiana University. He led public school bands in Aurora, IL, from 1966-69, then he returned to Indiana University to earn a doctorate in Instructional Systems Technology (Ed.D., 1971). He became the Director of Instructional Media at Indiana Central University and played in a faculty brass group there. While in the Indianapolis area, he was the PR photographer for the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra for five years and a bugling Scoutmaster for seven years.

Moving to Jackson, WY, in 1983, Don helped form a brass quintet, and he became the founding conductor of the Jackson Hole Community Band (JHCB) in 1989. He conducted the JHCB for its first seventeen years, usually in excess of twenty performances per year, and he frequently substitutes as the conductor since his retirement. In 1999 Don led the JHCB in performances at the Maastricht Easter Festival in the Netherlands. He conducted two church choirs in Jackson for a total of eleven years, and he taught at the local community college for eleven years. As a park ranger in Grand Teton N.P. (ten years) and at the National Elk refuge (ten years), he used his background in music and his technical editing and mixing skills to produce instructional videos and slide shows for training and public education. He plays his euphonium in ACB convention bands, Music at the Summit, the National Community Band, and the JHCB, exemplifying that the enjoyment of music is a lifetime activity. Don is the Wyoming membership coordinator for ACB and an avid volunteer for Habitat for Humanity.

Mr. Paul M. Furlong, a Western New York native, holds BFA and MFA degrees in Music Education from SUNY at Buffalo.

As a retired music educator from Eden Central Schools, department chair and director of the Junior High Band and High School Wind Ensemble, he maintains an active and busy schedule as a performer, community ensemble board member, and Festival Administrator for the Erie County Music Educators Association. He is the current president of the Buffalo Niagara Concert Band (BNCB), winner of the 2019 Scudler Silver Scroll Award. Additionally, he is vice-president of the Erie County Wind Ensemble, as well as personnel manager for BNCB and the Cheektowaga and Orchard Park Symphonies.

He has served as guest conductor of the Post 264 American Legion Band, Hamburg Village Band, the Amherst Chamber Ensembles, and as an All-County director in Niagara County. In 2017 he was appointed as Associate Conductor with BNCB. Mr. Furlong is principal bassoonist of the Buffalo Niagara Concert Band (BNCB), Cheektowaga Community Symphony Orchestra, Orchard Park Symphony, and Erie County Wind Ensemble. As a bassoonist, he is a founding member of the Metropolitan Woodwind Quintet, the "Reed My Lips" Double Reed Ensemble, BSNQ (a bassoon

quartet/quintet). As a free-lance bassoonist and contrabassoonist he has performed with the Buffalo Philharmonic and Erie Philharmonic (PA) orchestras. He also founded Clarinets Unleashed!, a clarinet ensemble, where he plays contrabass clarinet. He was principal bassoonist with the American Legion Band of the Tonawanda's Post 264 for 41 years.

He has been bassoon soloist with BNCB, the American Legion Band, the Cheektowaga Community Symphony, the Erie County Wind Ensemble, Hamburg Village Band, and Orchard Park Symphony in addition to contrabassoon soloist with the Hamburg Village Band and Buffalo Niagara Band. He has performed professionally on bassoon and contrabassoon with the Erie (PA) Philharmonic and Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestras. In November 2013, he performed the premiere of his own wind band arrangement of the first movement of Stephen Frost’s Bassoon Concerto with the Buffalo Niagara Concert Band and performed it again at the Association of Concert Bands National Convention in Allentown, PA in March 2014.

Professional affiliations include the National Association for Music Education and New York State School Music Association (NAfME/NYSSMA), the American Federation of Musicians, and the International Double Reed Society. He is also a NYSSMA certified All-State Woodwind Adjudicator.

Elva Huber is from Houston, TX and joined the ranks of retirees after a nursing career of 38 years. Noah Lee introduced her to ACB in 2005. She and her husband David are double reed players that have participated in numerous ACB Convention Bands, the Sousa Foundation National Community Band conducted by Col. Bourgeois and Liberty Classic Band Festival conducted by Col. Gabriel. She has been a member of The McAllen Town Band under Arturo Valdez, Arlington Community Band under Bob Copeland, Irving Symphonic Band under Bob Brule, The Woodlands Concert Band under Paul Worosello, and Cypress Concert Band under Clancy Weeks. She has served as an officer and board member in several of these community bands. Elva enjoys playing in Windspirations, a wind ensemble, associated with Lord of Life Church in The Woodlands under Jeremy Kelsey. Music is a key part of her life and she continually seeks to support her musical groups.

Bill has been involved with managing and performing in bands since Watchung Hills Regional High School (New Jersey), where he was also Marching Band Drum Major in his senior year. 
At Northeastern University (Boston), Bill was Band President, Manager, Drum Major and Pep Band director, and lead the planning and execution efforts for annual international concert tours.

After graduating with degrees in Electrical Engineering and Music form Northeastern and the New England Conservatory of Music, Bill has maintained a successful professional career as a Project Manager in IT & Telecommunications, while in parallel enjoying volunteer engagements in several local community bands, including: Palos Verdes Symphonic Band (CA); Upper Valley Community Band (NH);  Denver Concert Band (CO) / Board Member ;  Colorado Wind Ensemble (CO) / Vice President ;Aurora Symphony Orchestra (CO);  Summit Concert Band (CO), President

Bill resides in Dillon, Colorado, and looks forward to contributing to the success of the ACB and it’s members by leveraging his broad experience, skills, and passion for community bands.

Colonel Thomas Rotondi, Jr. retired from the United States Army in 2011 following a distinguished 34-year military career culminating as the eighth Leader and Commander of The United States Army Band “Pershing’s Own” in Washington, DC. Originally from Chicago Heights, Illinois, Colonel Rotondi holds a Bachelor of Music degree from Millikin University, Decatur, Illinois, and a Master of Business Administration degree from Golden Gate University, San Francisco, California. While at Millikin University, Colonel Rotondi was active in Phi Mu Alpha and was selected for Pi Kappa Lambda Honorary Music Fraternity.

Colonel Rotondi joined the United States Army as a trumpet player in 1977. He received his commission in 1982 through Officer Candidate School, where he was an honor graduate. Prior to his assignment in Washington, DC, Colonel Rotondi held multiple assignments including staff conductor and administrative intern, Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra, Fort Worth, Texas (as part of the Army’s “Training with Industry” program); Commander/ Conductor, United States Continental Army Band, Fort Monroe, Virginia; Commander/Conductor, United States Army, Europe, Band and Chorus, Heidelberg, Germany; and Commander/Conductor of the United States Military Academy Band at West Point, New York.

Colonel Rotondi performed at numerous national events including the State Funeral for President Gerald R. Ford and the first inauguration for President Barack Obama. Colonel Rotondi has also conducted throughout Europe as well as Japan and China. He holds the distinction of being the first United States military band officer to conduct the Peoples Liberation Army Band in Beijing, China.

Colonel Rotondi studied conducting with Eiji Oue, Conductor Laureate of the Osaka Philharmonic Orchestra, and with John Giordano, Conductor Emeritus of the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra. He twice attended the Conductor’s Seminar at the Tanglewood Music Center (summer home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra) where the faculty included Seiji Ozawa, Maurice Abravanel, and Gustav Meier.

Colonel Rotondi was elected to membership into the prestigious American Bandmasters Association in 2004, was awarded the Alumni Merit Award from Millikin University in 2007 and was inducted into the Bloom Township High School Hall of Fame in 2010. Besides serving on the Board of Directors for the Association of Concert Bands, Colonel Rotondi also serves as the Advisor to the Director for the Music At The Summit Adult Band Institute in Breckenridge, Colorado and continues to serve on the John Philip Sousa Foundation’s Colonel George S. Howard Award Committee.

Colonel Rotondi and his wife, Karen, retired to Kingsport, Tennessee, where he remains active as a freelance conductor, musical consultant and clinician.

Mr. Ridley has been involved with music all his life. He earned both BA and MA degrees in music from California State University Long Beach where he studied conducting under H. Robert Reynolds. During his time at CSULB he studied clarinet with Kalman Bloch of the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra. He also holds a Lifetime California Teaching Credential and an Administrative Services Credential.

Tom enlisted in the 72 nd US Army Band as a clarinet player and also acted as Assistant Conductor. He taught instrumental music and served as Assistant Principal in Southern California high schools. Following his career in education, he became a sales representative in the financial printing industry. He then established his own printing brokerage company and remained self-employed for 23 years.

During the time his three sons were growing up, Tom spent 15 years serving school age children in the Huntington Beach area.

Mr. Ridley has been the director of the Huntington Beach Concert Band since 1977, director of the Covina Concert Band since 2011, and is also currently ACB’s Regional Membership Coordinator for Southern California.

Beth Steele began her musical career playing the violin and piano and later switched to trumpet after hearing a Chicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO) performance of "Pictures at an Exhibition" with legendary principal trumpet Adolph "Bud" Herseth. Beth earned a Bachelor of Music degree in Trumpet Performance and a Master of Music in Conducting from Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois.

After receiving her commission in 1988, Beth began a stellar conducting career in the US Army. From the White House to Carnegie Hall, Moscow's Red Square, London's Horse Guards Parade Ground, Arlington National Cemetery, New York City's "Ground Zero" and everything in between, Lieutenant Colonel (Ret) Beth Steele was honored to lead professional Army musicians in performances and witness first-hand, the tremendous power of music to inspire, reassure, exhilarate, influence and unite people. During her last assignment in Europe, Beth developed enduring partnerships with European musicians and was awarded the German government's highest peacetime award of the "Silver Cross of Honor." It was during her time in Europe that Beth was poignantly reminded of the enduring and universal nature of music. She returned to the US committed to ensuring that community music, especially community bands, remain a vital part of our national fabric. To this end, she started Music at the Summit an Adult Band Institute, with professional staff leading sectionals, rehearsals and master classes. The Institute was a rousing success and she intends to improve and expand it to include even more musical opportunities.

Beth recently retired from the Army and she and her husband, Mike, also a retired military musician, live in Breckenridge where she is an advocate for community music. Beth currently conducts the Summit Concert Band, the Summit Community Orchestra, the Alpine Orchestra, teaches trumpet, and enjoys biking and hiking with their dog, Mocha.

The ACB has been a big part of Jan's life for 30 years. She has attended all but two conventions and served three board terms and will begin her fourth at VA Beach Convention. As a Life Member, I believe in the organization and promote it consistently. At several conventions Turnage established and led the Round Table Clinics which were well received. Turnage is a Regional Membership Chair for AZ and UT. For over 36 years she helped organize and manage several community bands including the Plano Concert Band, the San Jose Wind Symphony and am co-founder of the Coastal Communities Concert Band. I have also set up groups for nonprofit status, bylaws, handbooks, and worked with directors and Marketing/Board to prepare new seasons. As Executive Director of the San Jose Wind Symphony, I submitted information for the Sudler Silver Scroll Award, performances at WASBE in Switzerland and San Jose, CA and three performances at ACB conventions. My duties also included planning many seasons of five to six formal concerts per year, and contracting all guest artists. I truly believe in music for life!