Craig McKenzie is the newly appointed Associate Director of Bands / Director of Athletic Bands in the Frost School of Music at the University of Miami. At Miami he oversees the conducting and teaching of the Frost Symphonic Winds and the Frost “Band of the Hour” Marching Band.

Dr. McKenzie received his D.M.A. from the University of Miami, Frost School of Music where he studied instrumental conducting with Robert M. Carnochan. He holds a Bachelor of Music Education from the University of Colorado at Boulder and a Master of Music with an emphasis in conducting from San José State University. His conducting mentors also include Edward C. Harris, Alan McMurray, Diana Hollinger, and Thomas Verrier.

With over 20 years of university, high school, and middle school teaching experience, Dr. McKenzie has previously held positions at Pioneer High School (Whittier, California), Abraham Lincoln High School (San Jose, California), and at San José State University.

Dr. McKenzie is the 2019 Grand Champion of the International Conducting Competition hosted by the National Association of Brass Band Conductors (now the Brass Band Conductors’ Association) in Eccles, England. As a result of his win, he was invited to guest conduct the Cory Band in 2020.

From 2019-2024, he was the conductor of the San Francisco Brass Band, taking them to back-to-back first place performances in two different divisions of the North American Brass Band Association Championships: second section in 2023 and first section in 2024.

In 2023, Dr. McKenzie served as the Music Director and Principal conductor of the Golden Gate Park Band, San Francisco’s oldest professional musical organization.

He enjoys returning to the San Bernardino mountains of California whenever possible to visit Arrowbear Music Camp where he directed the Intermediate Session Band from 2002—2019. He credits Arrowbear Music Camp with an influential portion of his musical education and attended as a camper in his childhood.

When not on the podium, Craig resides in Miami, FL with his wife Andrea, their two sons, and their dog Freya. He enjoys traveling, exploring new cities via their restaurants, and searching for lost retro, vintage, and midcentury-modern artwork to add to his collection.