Dr. Ron Hufstader

Ron Hufstader has been Director of Bands at The University of Texas at El Paso since 1976 and served as Chairman of the Music Department from 1990 to 2002. In addition to his duties as Director of Bands, Dr. Hufstader teaches undergraduate and graduate conducting classes and conducts the UTEP Wind Ensemble. It is under his direction that the Wind Ensemble was selected to perform at the Texas Music Educators Association and the College Band Directors National Association conventions.

Dr. Hufstader's many professional activities also include coordination of halftime shows for some of the major bowl games including the Sun, Alamo, Liberty, Gator, and Sugar Bowls. Presently the principal trombone for the El Paso Symphony Orchestra, Dr. Hufstader has played in many others including the Greensboro Symphony and the Classical Music Seminar Orchestra in Austria.

In 1995, Dr. Hufstader established the El Paso Wind Symphony, a professional concert band composed of music teachers and business people from the El Paso area. This group now has a subscription season of six concerts plus the annual Fourth of July Concert and Fireworks that is attended by more than 20,000 people each summer.

Active as an adjudicator and guest conductor, Dr. Hufstader has served as guest conductor for the Costa Rica National Youth Orchestra/Wind Ensemble, the El Paso Symphony Orchestra, as well as other ensembles throughout the United States, Canada, Mexico, and Latin America.

Dr. Hufstader holds a Ph.D. in music from the University of Iowa, a Master's degree from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, and a Bachelor's degree from East Carolina University.