Douglas Hill

      Professor of Music
      Director of Undergraduate Studies
      Director of Instrumental Ensembles
     (478) 301-2752
      hill_dm@mercer.edu

Dr. Douglas Hill, Professor of Music, Director of Instrumental Ensembles, Director of Undergraduate Studies and Coordinator of the Music Education Program at Mercer University, joined the faculty in 1988 after completing six years of successful public school teaching in Ohio and the doctor of musical arts degree in wind conducting at the University of Cincinnati, College-Conservatory of Music.   

As Conductor of the Mercer Wind Ensemble, Hill has broadened the program to include the performance of both traditional and contemporary wind ensemble literature from the Renaissance through the twenty-first century. Since the opening of the McCorkle Music Building in 2001, a full complement of more than 12 chamber ensembles has been established from within the Mercer Wind Ensemble.  The Mercer Wind Ensemble often divides into chamber ensembles coached by faculty members to focus on individual musicianship, performance skills, and improved intonation.  The Wind Ensemble can regularly be heard on Georgia Public Radio, in concert at the Neva Langley Fickling Recital Hall, and on regional performance tours.  Hill also conducts the Mercer Chamber Players, a faculty ensemble of mixed instrumentation depending upon the literature performed.  In January 2004, this premiere ensemble was invited to perform at the Georgia Music Educators In-Service Conference in Savannah.

Hill's experience and expertise as both a conductor and music educator and his broad knowledge of traditional and contemporary band literature have made him much in demand as a guest conductor and clinician for high school, university and community bands across the country. On seven separate occasions, Hill has been the recipient of Mercer University Faculty Research Grants to research new and existing wind works in Kerkrade, The Netherlands; Manchester, England; the University of Calgary, Canada; San Luis Obispo, California; Lucerne, Switzerland, at the World Association of Symphonic Bands and Ensembles world conference on wind band music; and most recently a focus on chamber music in the National Libraries of Prague, Czech Republic and Vienna, Austria.  As a result of this research, he has been able to incorporate a wealth of literature into conducting, wind literature and music education classes as well as wind ensemble rehearsals and performances at Mercer. 

While at Mercer, Hill and the Mercer Wind Ensemble have presented the Georgia premiere of works by Henk Alkema, Warren Benson, Daren Hagen, Rocky  Reuter, Robert J. Frank, Michael Weinstein, Eric Ewazen, and  Peter Fischer.  Hill and the Mercer Wind Ensemble have been regular participants in consortiums to promote new works by composers Nebojsa Zivkovic, Warren Benson, John Mackey, Eric Ewazen, Adam Gorb, and most recently Lowell Liebermann, Roger Cichy, and Peter Fischer.

In 2008, Hill and faculty members Adrian Gnam, Distinguished Artist-in-Residence at Mercer and Conductor of the Macon Symphony Orchestra; Stanley Roberts, Director of Choral Activities at Mercer; and guest conductor Gregory Pritchard hosted the Fifth Annual International Conductors Workshop.  Participants from around the world were given the rare opportunity to conduct in an orchestral, choral and band setting with the Macon Sinfonia, Mercer Singers, and Mercer Wind Ensemble serving as resident ensembles for the four-day workshop.

Hill is an active member of the College Band Directors National Association, World Association of Symphonic Bands and Ensembles, Music Educators National  Conference, Georgia Music Educators Association, and the International Trumpet Guild.

He maintains an active schedule as a guest conductor, clinician, adjudicator, and  trumpet performer across the Southeast.  Currently he performs in the Colony IV Brass and the Mercer Faculty Brass Quintet.

Hill is available to schedule clinics and guest conducting engagements by contacting him at (478) 301-2752, fax (478) 301-5633, or e-mail at hill_dm@mercer.edu.

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