Mary K. Schneider (Ann Arbor, MI) is Professor of Conducting and Director of Bands at Eastern Michigan University, where she conducts the EMU Wind Symphony and teaches graduate and undergraduate courses in conducting and music education.
Active both nationally and internationally as a guest conductor and clinician, Schneider’s recent engagements include conducting residencies with the Eastman Wind Ensemble, New England Conservatory Wind Ensemble, and the Sydney Conservatorium Wind Symphony. She has served as a concert band adjudicator at the Music for All National Festival and affiliate regional festivals and is a frequent guest conductor of all-state and district honor bands throughout the U.S.
A passionate advocate for new wind music, Schneider has participated in the commissioning and/or premiering of over three dozen works for band, and her ensembles regularly collaborate with a wide range of composers. In addition to her contributions to the GIA Teaching Music Through Performance in Band series, she has presented on wind band repertoire at The Midwest Clinic in Chicago and is frequently invited to lecture on the music of celebrated American composer John Corigliano, particularly his Symphony No. 3 for large wind ensemble, Circus Maximus.
Schneider is an elected member of the American Bandmasters Association, where she currently serves on its Board of Directors, and was also elected to the Board of Directors of the National Band Association. In 2027, she will make history as the first woman to serve as President of the College Band Directors National Association.
Schneider holds a terminal degree in conducting from the University of Texas at Austin, and degrees in horn performance and music education from the New England Conservatory of Music and the University of Connecticut, graduating with Distinction in Performance honors from the former.