Featured Clinicians

Phillip Riggs, 2016 Grammy Music Educator of the Year, retired after teaching more than 30 years in North Carolina. He is a music instructor emeritus at the NC School of Science and Math, Durham, NC. Phillip is a recipient of the Outstanding Teacher Award and the Exceptional Contribution in Outreach Award presented by the UNC Board of Governors. Mr. Riggs was voted into the North Carolina Band Directors Hall of Fame (2023). Prior to joining the NCSSM faculty, he was the first fine arts chair at Ronald Reagan High School, Winston-Salem, NC where he was the first faculty member inducted into the Reagan High School Hall of Fame, (Fall, 2015). Before assuming that position, Mr. Riggs taught in Davidson County for sixteen years.

Phillip currently serves as a conductor/administrator with the World Adult Wind Orchestra Project (WAWOP) held in Austria each summer. He and his wife Carol are co-founders of the American Music Education Network. Mr. Riggs is a Past President of the NC Band Directors Association. He also served as chair of the North Carolina High School All-State Band (8 years), chair of the NCMEA Technology and founding chair of the NCMEA New Teacher/Mentor Program. He was the coordinator of the National Association for Music Educators, (NAfME) National Wind Ensemble at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. (2011, 2012). He has also served as the Southern Division Representative on the NAfME Council for Band and the NC chair of the National Band Association. His professional affiliations include NAfME, NCMEA, NBA, and ASBDA. Phillip, a Conn-Selmer Educational Artist, is active as a clinician and adjudicator throughout the United States, Austria, and China.

Christopher M. Nelson is a conductor, educator, composer, and arranger, and currently serves as the Director of Bands at Snow College, in Ephraim, Utah. His wide array of musical interests stem from his experiences as a music educator and community performer. His studies have taken him to degree programs at Brigham Young University, Washington State University, and the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, where his research has focused upon the creation of transcriptions of percussion and keyboard works for the modern wind band.

As an educator, Chris has held band director positions in the Salem-Keizer (OR) and Alpine (UT) school districts, where his ensembles have been consistently recognized for their high-quality performances. His bands have been invited to state festivals and contests in both Oregon and Utah, earning superior ratings and state placements with his concert, jazz, and percussion ensembles. His marching ensembles have been similarly recognized with state classification championships and numerous caption awards. He has presented at the Utah, Indiana, and Oregon Music Educators Association Conferences, and has been awarded the Citation of Excellence from the Utah Chapter of the National Band Association. Chris is sought after as a concert and marching band adjudicator, clinician, and arranger throughout the United States.

A native of Oregon, Chris has works for band published by C-Alan Publications. Pieces written by him have been performed by the Musashino Academy of Music Wind Ensemble, the Indiana University Wind Ensemble, and Michigan State University Wind Symphony, among others. His music has been performed throughout the world, including the Midwest Clinic in Chicago, Illinois, the Opera City Concert Hall in Tokyo, Japan, and at Carnegie Hall. In addition to his works for the concert hall, Chris enjoys writing and arranging for bands in virtually any circumstance including marching band, pep band, graduation ensembles, and drumlines. His favorite thing to do in the whole world is to spend time with his wife, Jessica, and their four children.