Mark Camphouse is Professor of Music and Director of Bands at Radford University in Virginia, a position he has held since 1984.  Prior to his appointment at Radford, Professor Camphouse held similar faculty positions at universities in Illinois (Blackburn College), Minnesota (St. Cloud State University), and Oklahoma (University of Oklahoma).  While on leave from Radford during the 1998-1999 academic year, Mr. Camphouse served a one-year appointment as Acting Dean of Music at New World School of the Arts in Miami, Florida.

            A native Chicagoan born in Oak Park, Illinois in 1954, Mr. Camphouse completed his high school education a year early and went on to receive his formal musical training at Northwestern University, where he received the Bachelor of Music degree in 1975 and Master of Music degree in 1976.  His principal teachers at Northwestern included Vincent Cichowicz (trumpet), John P. Paynter (conducting), and Alan Stout (composition).  During his third and final year of high school, Camphouse was awarded a Chicago Civic Orchestra scholarship, which enabled him to study trumpet privately for two years with legendary Chicago Symphony Orchestra principal, Adolph Herseth.

            Camphouse began composing at an early age, with the Colorado Philharmonic premiering his First Symphony at age 17.  Principal commissions include those by the John P. Paynter Foundation, William D. Revelli Foundation, The United States Army Band (“Pershing’s Own”), The United States Marine Band ("The President's Own"),  Florida Bandmasters Association, and some of America’s finest college and high school wind bands.

            Mr. Camphouse won the 15^th Annual National Band Association (NBA) composition contest in 1991, and was runner-up in both the 1986 and 1989 American Bandmasters Association (ABA) Ostwald competitions.  His works have been performed in such prestigious venues as Carnegie Hall, The Kennedy Center, Orchestra Hall-Chicago, Royal Albert Hall-London, and conferences of the World Association for Symphonic Bands and Ensembles (WASBE), College Band Directors National Association (CBDNA), Music Educators National Conference (MENC), American Bandmasters Association, and the Midwest International Band and Orchestra Clinic.  His works for wind band are published by Kjos, Southern, and TRN music companies.  They have received widespread critical acclaim and are performed frequently throughout the U.S. and abroad.  Many may be heard on the Albany, Citadel, and Summit labels.

             Engagements as a guest conductor, clinician, and lecturer have taken him to 38 states, Canada, and Europe.  He was co-founder of the New Mexico Music Festival at Taos, where he served as Music Director and Conductor of the Festival Symphony Orchestra and Wind Ensemble for five summer seasons (1978-1982).  He also served for four summers as Associate Director and Music Division Head of the Virginia Governor’s School for the Arts (1986-1989), and as Music Director and Conductor of the New River Chamber Winds from 1993-1997.

            Mr. Camphouse conceived, compiled and edited the first in a planned four-volume book series by GIA Publications entitled Composers on Composing for Band.  Chapter contributors joining Camphouse for Volume One (2002) are ten of the world's most highly respected wind band composers including David Gillingham, Karel Husa, Timothy Mahr, and Frank Ticheli to name just a few.

            Mr. Camphouse was elected to membership in the American Bandmasters Association in 1999.  He has served as coordinator of the National Band Association Young Composer Mentor Project since its inception in 2000.  He received the 1991 Radford University Dedmon Award for Professorial Excellence (Radford’s highest faculty honor), and in 1992 attained regional finalist status in the prestigious White House Fellowship Competition.  Virginia Governor Mark Warner presented Professor Camphouse with a 2002 Outstanding Faculty Award, sponsored by the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV).  This award is the Commonwealth’s highest honor for faculty at Virginia’s colleges and universities for demonstrated excellence in teaching, research, and public service.

            Mr. Camphouse has been married to soprano Elizabeth Ann Curtis since 1982.  They live in Radford with their twin 16-year-old daughters, Beth and Briton.  

Published Works for Wind Band