Dr. Gary Schallert is Director of Bands and Professor of Music at Western Kentucky University where he administrates the band program, conducts the Wind Ensemble and Symphonic Band, and teaches graduate and undergraduate courses in conducting and music education. Additionally, he supervises instrumental student teachers.

Dr. Schallert earned his Bachelor of Music Education and Master of Music degrees from New Mexico State University, and the Doctor of Arts degree in Wind Conducting from the University of Northern Colorado. Schallert maintains an active schedule as a guest conductor and clinician throughout the United States and has conducted touring ensembles in Europe, Australia, and Costa Rica. Under his leadership, the WKU Wind Ensemble performed at the 2012, 2016, and 2020 KMEA Conferences and the 2016 CBDNA Southern Division Conference in Charleston, SC where he conducted the premiere performance of Omar Thomas' Of Our New Day Begun.  In addition to his work on the concert stage, Dr. Schallert is an active adjudicator for prestigious marching arts events across the county including Drum Corps International. He has contributed Teacher Resources Guides for ten volumes of the popular series Teaching Music Through Performance in Band. 

Dr. Schallert is an elected member of the prestigious American Bandmasters Association, the Kentucky Music Educators Association, and was recently honored by KMEA with the 2017 College/University Teacher of the Year Award.  Other professional affiliations include the College Band Director's National Association, the National Association for Music Education, the National Band Association, and the KMEA Third District Band Director Association. He is a member of Phi Beta Mu, Phi Mu Alpha, and is an honorary member of Kappa Kappa Psi and Tau Beta Sigma. He and his wife, Amy, reside in Bowling Green and have four sons; Ryan, Casey, Evan and Trevor.

Dr. Matthew McCurry currently serves as the Associate Director of Bands and Director of Athletic Bands at Western Kentucky University where his responsibilities include teaching courses in music education as well as conducting the Spring Symphonic Band and overseeing the athletic band program, including the Big Red Marching Band - The Pride of the Hilltoppers and the Spirit Pep Bands. 

Dr. McCurry was most recently Assistant Director of Bands at West Virginia University, where he spent four years working with the concert and athletic bands.  Before moving to WVU in 2016, Dr. McCurry spent fifteen years as an educator in the public schools of East Tennessee, where he spent twelve years as the Director of Bands at Knoxville’s Carter High School.  During his time there, the band grew to become the largest comprehensive band program in the county with over 200 students in two marching bands, three concert ensembles, and  competitive jazz and indoor programs. The concert bands earned consistent Superior ratings in Concert Assessment Performances while the marching band was named a Top 10 Finalist Band in the State Marching Band Championships on a regular basis.  Additionally, Dr. McCurry often appears as a guest clinician for local and regional honor bands and summer clinics.

Dr. McCurry’s professional affiliations include the National Band Association, the College Band Directors National Association, NAfME: The National Association for Music Education, the American Schools Band Directors Association, the East Tennessee School Band and Orchestra Association, and the Tennessee Bandmasters Association.  He also holds honorary membership in Phi Mu Alpha (Epsilon Sigma) and Kappa Kappa Psi (Omicron).  Dr. McCurry holds a Bachelor’s degree in Instrumental and Vocal Music Education from Carson-Newman University, where he also earned a Master’s degree in Education. He received the Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Conducting from West Virginia University. 

Dr. Sarah Herbert joined the faculty at Western Kentucky University as the Assistant Professor of Trumpet and Jazz in 2020. Dr. Herbert teaches applied trumpet, trumpet ensemble, and directs the WKU Jazz Band. She has previously held faculty positions at the University of Wyoming, the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music and Miami University Regionals in Hamilton, Ohio. Dr. Herbert’s recent performing career has been diverse and includes performances with professional jazz/commercial ensembles, orchestras and chamber groups including the Wyoming Symphony Orchestra and the University of Wyoming Faculty Brass Quintet. In the Cincinnati area she has performed with the Fillmore Brass Band and Wind Ensemble, Washington Ave Brass Quintet, The Belairs 1950’s Show Band, The Casino Players Ensemble, Bach Chorale Singers, and the Richmond Symphony Orchestra (Indiana). Additionally, she has played in numerous musical theater orchestras and performed as a cruise ship musician for Norwegian Cruise Lines based out of Miami, Florida.

As a K-12 music educator, Dr. Herbert spent four years as the Director of Instrumental Music for The Menaul School, an Independent School in Albuquerque, New Mexico. In this position she taught band and guitar for grades 6-12 and served as the Fine Arts Chair for the school. Dr. Herbert continues to be actively engaged in secondary education as a guest clinician, adjudicator, and as a committee member for the International Trumpet Guild Youth Awards. In addition to teaching and performing, Dr. Herbert is also a committed researcher. As the 2016 recipient of the prestigious Presser Foundation Graduate Research Award she has been able to pursue an innovative project which resulted in the commissioning and recording of three new works for the unique instrumental combination of trumpet and guitar quartet. Dr. Herbert has performed these works at both the 2017 International Trumpet Guild Conference in Hershey, Pennsylvania with the Texas Guitar Quartet and at the 2019 International Women’s Brass Conference in Tempe, Arizona with the Albuquerque, New Mexico based Rio Grande Guitar Quartet.

A native of Portland, Oregon, Herbert completed her Doctor of Music in Trumpet Performance from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music in 2017. She also holds a Master of Music and Certification in Music Education from the University of New Mexico and a Bachelor of Music in Trumpet Performance from the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music.