DON STINSON

Don Stinson is a music educator and trumpeter in Illinois. He currently serves as Director of Bands at Joliet Central High School, only the fifth director in the band’s 109-year history. Under his direction, the program has received a grant from the Give a Note Foundation and received four consecutive NAMM Foundation SupportMusic Merit Awards for excellence in music education.  In 2017, 2018, & 2019, the symphonic band was selected to participate in the prestigious University of Illinois Superstate Festival, and in 2018, the band was awarded class winner at the Smoky Mountain Music Festival in Tennessee.  In 2020, the Joliet Central Symphonic Band was invited to perform on stage at Lincoln Center in New York City.   

Don is a 2002 alumnus of Joliet Central High School.  He has earned degrees from Joliet Junior College, VanderCook College of Music, Northern Illinois University, and the University of St. Francis. He holds five Citations of Excellence from the National Band Association, is a 2017 CMA Music Teacher of Excellence, a four time-named Grammy Music Educator Quarterfinalist, a Conn-Selmer VIP for Music Education, and is a National Board Certified teacher. In 2018, Mr. Stinson was recognized by his colleagues with the Chicagoland Outstanding Music Educator Award. He is a member of the Phi Betu Mu International Bandmaster’s Fraternity, the National Band Association, the Illinois Music Educators Association, and is the primary host of the music education podcast “The Bandmasters.”

Don hopes that the podcast helps to provide professional development on-the-go from some outstanding bandmasters in the music education field.