Barry E. Kopetz

Barry E. Kopetz heads the Department of Music at Mississippi State University and conducts the Starkville Symphony Orchestra. Previously, he was professor of conducting and director of bands at the Capital University Conservatory of Music in Columbus, Ohio. He conducted the Symphonic Winds, Wind Symphony, and Chamber Winds and taught both graduate and undergraduate conducting. Kopetz has taught at the University of Utah, the University of Minnesota, Bowling Green State University (Ohio) and in the public schools of South Carolina and Ohio.

As a composer and arranger, Kopetz has more than 55 published works to his credit. He is active as a guest conductor and adjudicator throughout the United States and Australia, and is a frequent contributor to The Instrumentalist magazine with his analyses of works from the standard repertoire for band. In addition to his busy schedule as a teacher and conductor, Kopetz has been active orchestrating music for television and film. He is a member of numerous professional organizations and was elected to membership in the American Bandmasters Association in 1998.