Garwood Whaley composer / arranger

Garwood Whaley received degrees from the Juilliard School–where he studied with Morris Goldenberg and Saul Goodman as a scholarship student–and The Catholic University of America where he earned a Doctor of Musical Arts degree while performing with the United States Army Band, “Pershing’s Own.” He is conductor emeritus of the Bishop Ireton Symphonic Wind Ensemble in Alexandria, Virginia, former adjunct professor of music at The Catholic University of America, past president of the Percussive Arts Society, former curriculum coordinator of instrumental music for the Diocese of Arlington Schools and president and founder of Meredith Music Publications. As director of Meredith Music, he has been responsible for the publication of some of the most exceptional performance and educational materials available today. More than 400 composers and authors are included in the Meredith catalog.

Doctoral studies in music education and full-time teaching at the high school level brought Whaley the realization that serious teaching texts dealing with often-neglected topics including score study, comprehensive musicianship and ensemble rhythm training were missing from the literature. With several new titles in this category including “Guide to Score Study” by Frank Battisti and Robert Garofalo, “Note Grouping” by James Thurmond, “The Art of Elementary Band Directing” by Eileen Fraedrich, and Edward Lisk’s “Creative Director” series, the company began receiving national attention as a serious contender in the music education book trade. The company now had two major focus areas: percussion pedagogical materials and music education/performance reference books.

In 2000, the Hal Leonard Corporation became the company’s exclusive distributor of worldwide sales. Since that time, Meredith Music has grown in both size and stature bringing with it international acclaim. The imprint found new praise with its series in five volumes “A Composer’s Insight: Thoughts, Analysis and Commentary on Contemporary Masterpieces for Wind Band”, Peter Boonshaft’s four-volume set beginning with “Teaching Music with Passion,” an autobiography by Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Michael Colgrass and its multi-volume Cookbook series for strings, voice, percussion and wind instruments. In 2004, Anthony J. Cirone joined Meredith as executive editor of percussion publications adding depth to this genre by creating the “Meredith Music Master Class Series” and the “Symphonic Repertoire Series.”