SONORA WINDS
A Tucson Wind Symphony
Karin Nolan- Musical Director
Clifton Weston is the Director of Bands at Magee Middle School in the Tucson Unified School District and is on staff with the UA Pride of Arizona. Mr. Weston received his Bachelor of Music in Clarinet Performance and Music Education and his Masters of Music in Conducting from The University of Arizona. During his masters, he served as the coordinator and director of the UA Outreach Honor Band, chair and coordinator of the UA High School Honor Band, and conductor of the UA Symphonic Band.
Clifton Weston is a graduate from the University of Arizona Fred Fox School of Music. During his time as a graduate teaching assistant, he served as coordinator and director for the UA Outreach Honor Band, Chair and Coordinator of the UA High School Honor Band, and conductor of the UA Symphonic Band. Under the mentorship of Gregg Hanson and Chad Nicholson, Weston earned his Master of Music in Wind Band Conducting in the spring of 2017. During his time at UA, Weston offered master classes to students of all ages throughout the Tucson community, as well as working with the Flowing Wells High School Marching Band with teaching mentor Ellen Kirkbride.
Weston earned his Bachelor of Music in clarinet performance and music education in 2014 from the University of Arizona. His clarinet teachers included Jerry Kirkbride, Suzanne Fischer, and Emilie Finn. His conducting teachers included Gregg Hanson and Kevin Holzman.
Sonora Winds Board of Directors 2022-2023
President: Gloria Day/George Dunscomb
VP: Todd Martin
Secretary: Susan Agnew
Treasurer: Sylvia Payne
Member-at-Large: Robin Leebardt
Advisor: Dr. Karin Nolan
Librarian: Marilyn McNamara
Musical Director: Clifton Weston (Ex-Officio)
Musical Conductor - Clifton Weston
Dr. Karin Noland - Musical Director
Dr. Karin Nolan is an Assistant Professor of Music Education at The University of Arizona, where she teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in music education, including student teaching seminars, band techniques, secondary methods, quantitative/qualitative reseacrch methods, and careers in music. She also directs the Office of Field Experiences, the Camerata Music Career Development Program, and the Outreach Middle School Honor Band. Through her career development series, she has made a name for herself as the guru for job-readiness materials for her music students (such as assisting with the idea of branding themselves, websites, resumes, cover letters, business cards, demo recordings, marketing materials, promo kits, etc.).
Nolan enjoys and seeks out community collaborations, often partnering with non-profit institutions and school districts around the state to assist them with their musical needs and outreach. She is currently partnering with faculty from the School of Speech and Hearing Sciences to continue the annual "Music & Health" seminar, dedicated to research in vocal and hearing health of musicians and music educators. Nolan works closely with the Tucson Desert Song Festival's education outreach, helping to put together the yearly K-12 Songwriting Competition. She is the music director of the Sonora Winds, a Tucson-based community wind ensemble. In the past, she has also developed music curriculum for the Tucson Symphony Orchestra, Arizona Opera, Arizona Theatre Company, and the Tucson Museum of Art.
She received her PhD in Music Education with an emphasis in Educational Psychology in 2009 from The University of Arizona. Prior to joining the faculty at the UA College of Fine Arts and the Fred Fox School of Music in 2011, Nolan enjoyed a rewarding career teaching K-12 general music, band, orchestra, and choir in Tucson-area schools for ten years.
