Richard T. Minnotte Richard T. Minnotte, now in his 34th year with the Mt. Lebanon School District, is the Director of the Mt. Lebanon Percussion. His responsibilities include guiding and directing all aspects of the percussion program in grades 4-12, conducting the Concert Ensemble and assisting with the Blue Devils Marching Band. Mr. Minnotte's career with the Mt. Lebanon Schools began in 1973 when he was hired as Assistant Marching Band Director. In 1978, he became a full time elementary band instructor while continuing his duties with the marching band. After a one-year leave of absence during the 1982/83 school year, Mr. Minnotte returned to begin his work as Director of the Mt. Lebanon Percussion. Under his direction, the percussion program in Mt. Lebanon has grown from 15 high school students in 1984 to over 195 students in grades 4-12 for the 2007/2008 school year. With seven concert ensembles, four specialty ensembles and the marching percussion section, the Mt. Lebanon Percussion has become recognized as one of the premier public school percussion programs in the nation. WQED-FM (Pittsburgh's NPR station) calls the Mt. Lebanon Percussion, "...a success beyond belief." In 1997, the adjudication panel for the Golden Gate Music Festival in San Francisco, CA. said of the Mt. Lebanon Percussion, "One of the finest examples of music education we have ever seen." The 2007/2008 school year marks the 24th season for the percussion program. Through its 23 previous seasons, the Concert Ensemble has received both local, statewide and national recognition. In August of 2004, the ensemble was selected by the Pennsylvania Music Educator's Association as one of the outstanding musical ensembles in Pennsylvania. As such, they were invited to perform at the 2005 PMEA State Convention in Hershey. This is the second time in three years that the Mt. Lebanon Percussion Ensemble has received this honor. In 2006, PMEA selected the ensemble as one of three groups for recommendation to the Music Educator's National Convention. Tne MTL Percussion was selected to play at the national convention in Salt Lake City, the ONLY percussion ensemble in the nation so honored. In 2007, Bands of America/Music for All selected the MTL Percussion to perform for the National Percussion Festival in Indianapolis, IN. There they joined seven other outstanding high school percussion ensembles from around the nation in a series of concerts. The Concert Ensemble, as well as the Drumline, have received numerous awards including first place and superior ratings in competitions around the country. In April 2005, the Concert Ensemble won First Place in Percussion Ensemble during competition in Virginia Beach, VA. In addition, since 1996 the Concert Ensemble has been honored to perform the live music for the KDKA-TV Children's Hospital Free Care Fund Telethon. Under Mr. Minnotte's direction, the Concert Ensemble has recorded three compact discs. The first, Holiday Bells, Mallets & Drums , features music from the ensemble's popular Holiday Concert Series. The second CD, 20th Anniversary Evening of Percussion, features selections from 20 years worth of spring percussion ensemble concerts. The newest CD, Holiday Bells, Mallets & Drums - Volume 2, was released in December 2007 and features many of the new commissions written exclusively for the MTL Percussion. In 1996, Mr. Minnotte received the Outstanding Service Award presented by the Mt. Lebanon Parent, Teacher, Student Association. This award was in recognition of his outstanding accomplishments with, and dedication to, the students of the Mt. Lebanon Percussion. In 1998, Minnotte was honored by Mt. Lebanon Magazine as Citizen of the Year in Mt. Lebanon as part of the magazine's annual This Town Would Be Different Without... award. Mt. Lebanon Magazine commended Mr. Minnotte for his years of dedication to the students of Mt. Lebanon. In 1994, Mr. Minnotte began a commissioning series to develop repertoire for high school percussion ensembles. To date, fifteen pieces have been commissioned with four of those having received national publication. For the 2005/2006 season, Jeremy Smith (a 2002 graduate of Mt. lebanon) was commissioned to write an arrangement of Deck the Halls With Jingle Bells . This piece features percussion ensemble and chorus and will be premiered during the 2005 Holiday Bells, Mallets & Drums Concert Series. In addition to his work with the Mt. Lebanon Percussion, Mr. Minnotte enjoys choral conducting and conducts the Mt. Lebanon United Methodist Church Chancel Choir on special occassions. Though he is very involved with music, Mr. Minnotte is also a 25-year veteran employee of the Federal Aviation Administration and currently serves as Opearations Manager for the FAA at the Pittsburgh International Airport Control Tower. He is also a general aviation pilot with nearly 2000 hours of flight time. Mr. Minnotte's previous positions include two years as Assistant Director of Bands at Duquesne University and three years as Director of Youth Music at the South Avenue United Methodist Church in Wilkinsburg, PA. At Duquesne, Mr. Minnotte had conducting responsibilities with both the Symphonic Band and the Wind Ensemble. In addition, he was responsible for the instruction of the Marching Band Methods course. Mr. Minnotte studied privately with Frank Shaffer and William Schneiderman. He attended Duquesne University in Pittsburgh where he received both Bachelor and Masters Degrees in Music Education. Mr. Minnotte is a member of the Pennsylvania Music Educators Association, Music Educators National Conference, Percussive Arts Society and the National Conference on Percussion Pedagogy.