Everything Band: Episode 120 - Olin Hannum

Olin Hannum is the Director of Athletic Bands at Oregon State University and one of the hosts of the AMusEd: A Music Educator’s Podcast. He joins the show to talk about the program at Oregon State and share his thoughts about developing student leaders.

Topics:

• Olin’s background growing up in Northern California as a horn player.
• What his job at Oregon State looks like and the challenges he faces in that position including a discussion of OSU’s football fortunes, the types of athletic events the band program supports, and a geography lesson.
• Some of the ways that the Oregon State Bands use Google Sheets to to stay organized and to automate the mundane tasks required to organize such a large organization.
• A discussion student leadership and motivation.
• Olin’s own compositions, the importance of original arrangements for college bands, and a brief discussion of copyright and licensing and why things have changed in recent years.

Links:

• Olin Hannum
• Oregon State Bands
• John Wooden: On Leadership
• Hearshen: Symphony on Themes of John Philip Sousa
• AMusEd: A Music Educators Podcast

Biography:

Olin Hannum, director of athletics bands at Oregon State University, joined the program during its marquee 125th anniversary year as only the seventh director in the history of the OSU Marching Band. In this capacity he oversees and directs all aspects of the OSU athletics bands program including the OSUMB, Basketball Band, the Rhythm and Beavs Travel Band, and other campus athletics-related musical groups.

Prior to joining the faculty at OSU, Hannum was director of athletics bands at the University of California, Davis. During his time there the California Aggie Marching Band increased in membership to a record 322 participants. Under his direction the ensemble was featured at its first National Football League games and developed a state-wide performance presence. In addition to leading the CAMB he founded and directed the University Campus Band, a symphonic style concert ensemble.
Hannum is a sought-after arranger for marching ensemble. His arrangements have been performed by competitive and non-competitive groups at the middle school, high school, and collegiate level in California and throughout the west coast. In addition to writing for marching ensembles, Hannum is an active composer for wind ensembles, brass ensembles and chamber music for solo instruments and piano.
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Prior to his appointment at UC Davis he was a graduate teaching assistant with the Oregon State University athletic and symphonic band programs, completing the master of arts in teaching at OSU in 2011. He also holds a bachelor’s degree in horn performance from UC Davis. Performance credits include notable appearances with the Golden State Wind Orchestra, the Berkeley Symphony Orchestra and the San Francisco Wind Ensemble.