2025 All-State Ensembles

All-State Children's Chorus - Melissa Trevino Keylock, Conductor

Thursday, February 6, 5:00 PM, Huntington Convention Center Grand Ballroom

Melissa Trevino Keylock serves as Artistic Director and Program Manager of the San Diego North Coast Singers. She previously worked at the Princeton Girlchoir, American Boychoir School, Rider University, Indianapolis Children's Choir, and taught in public and private schools. Mrs. Keylock was R&R Chair on state/regional boards of the American Choral Directors Association, and currently serves on the board of the San Diego Kodály Educators chapter.

She holds an undergraduate degree from Wheaton College, a Master of Music from Butler University where she directed the Women's Glee Club, Orff Level 1 certification, and completed Kodály levels at Indiana University and Capital University. She is listed in Who's Who in American Women. She and co-writer Jill Friedersdorf have published over thirty songs and arrangements, including numerous commissioned works. Mrs. Keylock was honored to direct the Elementary Honor Choir of Midwest Region conference for the American Choral Director’s Association (2024).

All-State Choir - Jonathan Palant, Conductor

Friday, February 7, 2:00 PM, Huntington Convention Center Grand Ballroom

Jonathan Palant is Associate Dean of the Arts and Director of Choral Activities at the University of Texas at Dallas and is founder and conductor of both Credo, a 150-member community choir, and the Dallas Street Choir, a musical outlet for those affected by homelessness. In addition, Dr. Palant is Director of Music at Kessler Park United Methodist Church.

In June 2016, Dr. Palant made his Carnegie Hall conducting debut performing with renowned artists Frederica von Stade, Harolyn Blackwell, Jake Heggie, and Broadway composer Stephen Schwartz.

From 2007-2011, he served as Artistic Director of Dallas’ Turtle Creek Chorale. Prior to that, Palant held collegiate teaching positions at Western Kentucky University and Madonna University, Livonia, Michigan. He taught secondary choral music at University School, an all-boys independent school in Cleveland, Ohio, and San Pasqual High School in Escondido, California.

Dr. Palant currently serves as president emeritus of the National Alliance for Music In Vulnerable Communities, Repertoire and Standards Chair for the Southwest American Choral Directors Association (SWACDA), and sits on the board of directors of the Intercollegiate Men’s Choruses. He has also served on the state board of the Michigan chapter of the American Choral Directors Association and Youth First Texas where he was founder and conductor of Dallas PUMP!, a choir serving at-risk youth.

In late 2017, the Dallas Morning News named Palant one of nine Texan of the Year finalists, and in 2016, Musical America named him one of their Innovators of the Year for establishing the Dallas Street Choir. 

Both Palant’s book, Brothers, Sing On! Conducting the Tenor-Bass Choir, and The Jonathan Palant Choral Series are published by the Hal Leonard Corporation.

Dr. Palant holds degrees from Michigan State University, Temple University, and the University of Michigan.

All-State Orchestra - Katherine Kilburn, Conductor

Friday, February 7, 8:00 PM, Huntington Convention Center Grand Ballroom

Award-winning conductor Katherine Kilburn boasts an impressive array of performances across a multitude of esteemed ensembles. Equally passionate about world premieres as traditional repertoire, she inspires audiences and musicians alike with her sensitive ear, clear technique, and enthusiastic approach to music-making. Kilburn serves as Assistant Director of Orchestras at Michigan State University where she conducts the Concert Orchestra and Musique 21, the Spring opera, guest conducts the Symphony Orchestra and teaches conducting.

Kilburn has served as Assistant Conductor of the National Repertory Orchestra, the El Paso Opera, the Hot Springs Music Festival, the Bowling Green State University Philharmonia, and the St. Louis Symphony Chorus. Her leadership roles include Conductor of the Interlochen Arts Academy Wind Ensemble, Music Director of the Greater New Haven Youth and Chamber Orchestras, and Interim Director of the Vermont Youth Orchestra Association’s Philharmonia. She has also guest-conducted the Mansfield Symphony Orchestra, the Lawrence University Symphony Orchestra, the Green Bay Symphony, Ensemble X, Cleveland Opera Theater, and the Baldwin Wallace Symphony Orchestra.

Notably, Kilburn assisted Sir Simon Rattle for performances of Peter Grimes at the Salzburg Easter Festival and has toured with acclaimed clarinetists David Shifrin and Alexander Fiterstein. A passionate advocate for new music, she has conducted numerous world and U.S. premieres and participated in several premiere recordings, including those on the Naxos American Classics/Milken Archive label. Her festival appearances include the Cabrillo Music Festival, the MidAmerican Center for Contemporary Music Festival, the Philadelphia International Music Festival, and the Sewanee Summer Music Festival.

Previous to her time at MSU, Kilburn was Interim Director of Orchestras at Cornell University while also maintaining a regular schedule of guest conducting, adjudicating, and being a clinician at festivals around the US. She also served as Interim Director of Orchestras at Kent State University, and previous to that was on faculty at Baldwin Wallace Conservatory, where she coordinated the Composition Performance Program, taught conducting and guest conducted the Baldwin Wallace Symphony Orchestra.

An alumnus of the Conservatoire Darius Milhaud in France and the Royal Academy of Music in London, Kilburn earned her DMA in Contemporary Music from Bowling Green State University, a MM in Orchestral Conducting from the University of Michigan, a MM in Choral Conducting from Indiana University, and a BA in Music and French from Wellesley College. Kilburn makes her home in Haslett, Michigan where she lives with her husband Octavio and two children, Luana and Sebastián. In her spare time she enjoys being out in nature, reading, traveling, cooking, and spending time with her family.

All-State Jazz Ensemble - Don Zentz, Conductor

Saturday, February 8, 11:00 AM, Marriott Ballroom

Don Zentz is in his 40^th year of teaching instrumental music at all levels in education.  Born in Buffalo, NY, Don grew up in the Daytona Beach, FL area.  He is an honor graduate of Valdosta State University and began his teaching career in Georgia as a high school and middle school band director.  Don moved to Jacksonville, FL in 1987 when he accepted the Director of Bands post at Wolfson Senior High School.  Two years later, Don was hired at the University of North Florida by jazz program founder Rich Matteson.  Don taught at UNF for 9 years with additional professorships at Florida Community College @ Jacksonville and Valdosta State.  He held a leadership position in arts administration for a dozen years at The Bolles School.  Don is now in his 10^th and final year at the Douglas Anderson School of the Arts (HS) in downtown Jacksonville.

Don’s tenure as the director of the flagship jazz ensemble at UNF brought national and international acclaim to the jazz program.  Highlights include winning the National Collegiate Jazz Festival, Notre Dame Jazz Festival, IAJE/Montreux/North Sea performances, DownBeat awards for the first time, and thirty artist residencies that reads like a who’s who in jazz.  During the past ten years at Douglas Anderson, Don’s top DA jazz ensemble has performed at JEN and The Midwest Clinic multiple times, was selected to perform at the 2023 Western International Band Clinic in Seattle, won the National Jazz Festival in 2022 & 2023, won the 2021 Basically Basie and 2018 Swing Central national high school jazz band competitions, has been recognized the last eight years running by DownBeat with their Student Music Awards, and just recently was named a 2024 Mark of Excellence Jazz Honors winner sponsored by the Foundation for Music Education.

Don is in demand as a clinician, performer, adjudicator, and honor band director in both traditional and jazz idioms.  For over 20 years, Don was a per service saxophonist with the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra and remains very active in playing the off-Broadway shows that travel through the southeastern region.  He has directed the all-state jazz bands of Florida (HS & MS), Georgia, Alabama, and Maine (2x), and the Delaware All-State Symphonic Band.  His district and county honor band directing is extensive.  Don was elected to the Board of Directors for The Midwest Clinic in 2023, the Jacksonville Jazz Festival Hall of Fame in 2022, the National Jazz Festival’s Jazz Educator of the Year in 2022, JEN’s John LaPorta Jazz Educator Award in 2024, DownBeat’s Jazz Education Achievement Award in 1999, the Florida Board of Regents TIP Award in 1998, and UNF’S Outstanding Undergraduate Professor Award in 1996.  Don served two terms as president of the Florida Unit of IAJE where he instituted the state jazz workshop.  Don has been a Keilwerth Saxophones performing artist since 1995.  He was inducted into the honorary band director fraternity, Phi Beta Mu, in 2021.

All-State Band - Eric Wilson, Conductor

Saturday, February 8, 2:00 PM, Huntington Convention Center Grand Ballroom

J. Eric Wilson, Professor of Ensembles and Conducting, has been Director of Bands at Baylor University since 2006. He provides administrative leadership for all aspects of the band program, conducts the Wind Ensemble, and teaches and oversees the undergraduate and graduate conducting curriculum. Additionally, he has supervised student teachers and served as Chair of the Ensemble Division. Dr. Wilson is a former president of the Big 12 Band Directors Association and Past-President of the CBDNA Southwestern Division. He has been elected into the American Bandmasters Association and the Phi Beta Mu International Bandmasters Fraternity, and honored as Outstanding Professor for Tenured Teaching by Baylor University in 2014. 

Dr. Wilson is in demand as a conducting clinician, adjudicator, and performing artist. As a conductor, he has directed numerous regional and state honor bands and conducted his own groups at conventions including the Texas Music Educators Association, College Band Directors National Association, American Bandmasters Association, and The Midwest Clinic. He was a featured contributor in the 2015 Meredith Music publication, Rehearsing the Band, Volume 2. 

Among Dr. Wilson’s recordings are Heart of the Holidays and Near to the Heart of God, and his writings include The Dallas Wind Symphony: Documentation of Its History and Artistic Significance. Prior to joining the Baylor faculty, he served twelve years on the faculty of Abilene Christian University. Dr. Wilson holds both a Doctor of Musical Arts degree (wind band conducting) and a Master of Music degree (saxophone performance) from the University of Michigan and a Bachelor of Music Education degree from Abilene Christian University. Prior to his university appointments, Dr. Wilson taught in the Texas public school system. In addition to his performing opportunities as conductor, clinician, and saxophonist, Dr. Wilson enjoys spending time with his wife, Lynette, and their children (Blake and his wife, Bailey; Meredith and her husband, Brandon; Luke; and Caleb), and especially relishes his new role as Papa with new grandson, Wesley!