Since 1984, Matthew McGarrell had been the Director of Bands and Senior Lecturer in Music at Brown University. In addition to conducting the Wind Symphony and Jazz Band, he taught courses in music theory, jazz history and transcription & analysis of jazz and was the Advisor to the Brown Band. Raised in New Hampshire, he is a graduate of the Loyola University College of Music in New Orleans where he studied trombone with Richard Erb. Prior to his appointment at Brown, he performed with professional orchestras and jazz bands (including the New Orleans Philharmonic, the New Hampshire Music Festival Orchestra and the New Orleans Saints Stadium Jazz Band) and taught at the University of New Hampshire and Northeastern University. He has adjudicated and guest conducted high school and college wind groups in the United States, Canada, Great Britain, The Netherlands, France, Spain, Portugal and Japan. McGarrell’s professional affiliations include the New England College Band Association, The College Band Directors National Association and the International Percy Grainger Society of which he is a member of the Board of Trustees. McGarrell has spent a great deal of time in Portugal where he lived for three sabbaticals (2003, 2010, and 2018) and has played trombone with the Banda Filarmónica de Covões. During his sabbaticals, he collected Portuguese band music and later prepared editions for performance by American bands.