FACULTY
FACULTY/Staff
Mr. R. Todd Cranson, M.M.
Band Director / Chamber Orchestra Director
Email: rcran2@uis.edu
Office: VPA 49
Phone: (217) 206-7549
Mr. Cranson's Education:
-
Pg. Dip. Performance, Royal Northern College of Music
-
M.M. Instrumental Conducting, University of Arkansas
-
B.M.E. Music Education, Louisiana State University
-
B.M. Performance, Louisiana State University
More about Mr. Cranson:
Todd Cranson is Director of the University of Illinois Springfield Concert Band, Athletic Bands, and Chamber Orchestra. He also serves as Artistic Director of the Vintage Brass Band of Springfield, IL, and as Tuba Mentor and Coordinator of Chamber Music at the Hot Springs Music Festival in Hot Springs, Arkansas. An established performer and teacher, Todd has a keen interest in American Music and performance of historically significant but frequently overlooked works.
In addition to his conducting duties, Todd performed on numerous recordings for the Naxos American Classics label as tubaist with the Hot Springs Music Festival Orchestra. The latest effort in this series is a yet unreleased album of Jazz-inspired concerti with music by George Gershwin, James Price Johnson, Harry Reser and Dana Suesse. Todd also performs turn-of-the-century brass band music every summer with the Great Western Rocky Mountain Brass Band of Silverton, Colorado under the direction of Paul Maybery.
Todd received his bachelor of music and bachelor of music education degrees with honors from Louisiana State University where he studied tuba with Larry Campbell. He received his master of music degree in instrumental conducting from the University of Arkansas and was a tuba student of Kabin Thomas. Before receiving a Post Graduate Diploma with distinction in performance from the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester, England where he was a student of Roger Bobo, James Gourlay, and Mel Culbertson, Todd was Director of Bands at Archbishop Shaw High School in Marrero, Louisiana. Todd is currently a DMA candidate at the University of Illinois where he studies tuba with Mark Moore.
