Email: rdennis@swau.edu
Phone: (817) 202-6442


Fields of Study:

Wind and Percussion Studies


Born:

Redlands, CA


Degrees and Studies:

BA/BS Pacific Union College (1986)
MMus, Clarinet Performance, University of Washington (2001)
DMA, Instrumental Conducting, University of Washington (2003)


Biographical Information:

Rudyard Dennis is the Director of Instrumental Studies at Southwestern Adventist University, where he conducts the Wind Symphony, coaches the Southwestern Brass Ensemble and teaches conducting, music technology, and music education courses. He most recently served four years as Director of Instrumental Studies at Union College in Lincoln, NE.
A clarinetist, Dennis has performed extensively in California, the Northwest and the Midwest. In 1995, he released a commercially-produced album, titled Hymns and Classics, featuring him as a performer on clarinet, flute, and recorder. It sold out. In 2001, Dennis completed an M.Mus. in Clarinet Performance at the University of Washington, where he studied with noted clarinet historian William McColl and served as principal clarinetist in the UW Symphony Orchestra. During that time he was a finalist in two UW Concerto Competitions.

Dennis completed a DMA in Instrumental Conducting at UW in 2003. While finishing his doctorate in music at UW, he won the prestigious Beech Memorial Conducting Scholarship.

Dennis has directed both instrumental and choral programs. He has taught privately at all levels and served as an adjunct performance instructor at Pacific Union College and at Columbia College in Columbia, California. He has been twice nominated for Who's Who Among American Teachers. A sought-after clinician, Dennis conducts band clinics throughout the country. He and his wife Diem, Associate Director of Admissions at Southwestern Adventist University, make their home in Cleburne, Texas.


Southwestern Adventist University:

Faculty since 2007