Gordon Henderson (Band Director)
Encyclopedia
Gordon Henderson is the Director of the UCLA Bruin Marching Band
. He is also Associate Director of Bands and Vice Chair of the Department of Music at UCLA. Since becoming Director in 1982, the Marching Band has performed at five Rose Bowls, two Cotton Bowls, three Sun Bowls, three Las Vegas Bowls, the Aloha Bowl, the Freedom Bowl, the Silicon Valley Bowl, the Emerald Bowl and the Fiesta Bowl. The UCLA Bruin Marching Band was the 1993 recipient of the Sudler Trophy, presented by the John Philip Sousa Foundation
. He has also conducted the UCLA Band at four NCAA Basketball Final Four Tournaments (1995, 2006, 2007, 2008).
Henderson conducted the UCLA Jazz Ensemble I from 1989 to 1995, and the UCLA Jazz Ensemble II from 1989 to 2002. Guest Soloists with the Jazz Ensembles during this period included Roy Hargrove
, Bob Mintzer
, Bill Watrous
, Gerald Wilson
, Allen Vizzutti
and Steve Houghton. In 1995, both the Jazz Combo I and the Jazz Ensemble I won their respective divisions at the Reno International Jazz Festival.
Henderson served as Head Brass Instructor and Brass Arranger for the 1989 DCI
Champion Santa Clara Vanguard, as Head Brass Instructor for the 1992 DCI Champion Cavaliers, and as Brass Arranger for the 1999 DCI Champion Santa Clara Vanguard. For the Summer of 2008, Henderson served as the Program Coordinator for the Troopers from Casper, WY, for their 50th Anniversary season.
Since 1990, Henderson has arranged the show music for the Tenrikyo Aimachi
Marching Band from Nagoya, Japan, the eight-time All-Japan National Champions, and for several bands in Thailand including St. Paul Convent School, Horwang School, St. Joseph Seminary School and Mahathai School.
Henderson has composed or arranged band music for numerous motion pictures including Click, Road Trip
, First Daughter, In the Line of Fire
, Little Nikita
, Don't Say A Word
, and Legends of the Fall
.
In 1984, Henderson served as a Drill Designer and Assistant Director of the 736-member Olympic All-American Marching Band that performed at the Opening Ceremonies of the Los Angeles Olympic Games. Henderson designed the Band's drill for the "Swing Era" segment of the show and also instructed the Trumpet Section.
In July 2009, he served as an adjudicator at the World Band Contest held in Kekrade, Netherlands, and in December 2009 was a clinician for the Mahathai School Band in Khon Kaen, Thailand and the Montrose College School Band in Chiang Mai, Thailand, and served as an adjudicator for the Kuala Lumpur International Marching Band Championship where bands from Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore and Cambodia performed.
Henderson was born on May 7, 1953 in Fairfield, California, and lived in North Carolina, Montana and Maryland before attending the University of Kentucky
, where he received his B.M.M.E. in 1975 and his M.M.M.E. in 1977.
, Assistant Director of Bands 1977-82
UCLA, Director of the Bruin Marching Band 1982 to present
Pride of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH, Drill Designer 1981
Guardsmen, Schaumberg, IL, Drill Designer 1982
Santa Clara Vanguard, Santa Clara, CA, Brass Instructor 1983-91, 1996-99, 2002, 2005; Visual Coordinator 1987-88; Brass Arranger 1988-91, 1996-99, 2002; Head Brass Instructor 1989-90
Cavaliers, Rosemont, IL, Head Brass Instructor 1992-94
Cadets, Allentown, PA, Brass Instructor 2003-04
Capital Regiment, Columbus, OH, Drill Designer, 2006
Troopers, Casper, WY, Program Coordinator 2008, Program Consultant 2009-10
The Academy, Tempe, AZ, Brass Consultant 2009
Pacific Crest, Diamond Bar, CA, Program and Performance Consultant 2010
UCLA Today - UCLA's solid gold music man http://www.today.ucla.edu/people/071120_ucla_gordon-henderson/
UCLA Magazine - Clothes Make the Band http://www.magazine.ucla.edu/features/bruin-marching-band/
Tenrikyo Aimachi Band, Nagoya, Japan http://www.aimachi.com/cn14/cn7/brass_section.html
UCLA Department of Music http://www.music.ucla.edu/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=68:gordon-henderson&catid=6&Itemid=225
Troopers Drum and Bugle Corps, Casper, WY http://members.troopersdrumcorps.org/staff.htm
Building the Green Machine, a biography of Cavaliers Founder Don Warren by Colt Foutz - Henderson's contribution to the Cavaliers' 1992 DCI Championship described by Don Warren in this book http://www.cavaliers.org/cgi-bin/store.pl?cmd=showprod&id=526
Santa Clara Vanguard Drum and Bugle Corps Historical Archives - 1989 http://www.scvanguard.org/history/view.cfm?uid=e9b2c9fa-70eb-4bf9-9f26-b131044ac4a2 and 1999 http://www.scvanguard.org/history/view.cfm?uid=35284997-0480-43cb-8f47-f59c64c89aff
The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) - List of Creditshttp://www.ascap.com/ace/search.cfm?requesttimeout=300&mode=results&searchstr=1516129&search_in=c&search_type=exact&search_det=t,s,w,p,b,v&results_pp=20&start=1
University of Kentucky Bands History http://www.uky.edu/StudentOrgs/KappaKappaPsi/history.htm
UCLA Band
The 270 member UCLA Bruin Marching Band, known as The Solid Gold Sound, represents the University at major athletic and extracurricular events. During the fall marching season, the Band performs at the Rose Bowl for UCLA Bruin home football games...
. He is also Associate Director of Bands and Vice Chair of the Department of Music at UCLA. Since becoming Director in 1982, the Marching Band has performed at five Rose Bowls, two Cotton Bowls, three Sun Bowls, three Las Vegas Bowls, the Aloha Bowl, the Freedom Bowl, the Silicon Valley Bowl, the Emerald Bowl and the Fiesta Bowl. The UCLA Bruin Marching Band was the 1993 recipient of the Sudler Trophy, presented by the John Philip Sousa Foundation
John Philip Sousa Foundation
The John Philip Sousa Foundation is a non-profit foundation dedicated to the promotion of band music internationally. The foundation administers a number of projects and awards supporting high quality band performance, conducting, and composition....
. He has also conducted the UCLA Band at four NCAA Basketball Final Four Tournaments (1995, 2006, 2007, 2008).
Henderson conducted the UCLA Jazz Ensemble I from 1989 to 1995, and the UCLA Jazz Ensemble II from 1989 to 2002. Guest Soloists with the Jazz Ensembles during this period included Roy Hargrove
Roy Hargrove
Roy Anthony Hargrove is an American jazz trumpeter. He won worldwide notice after winning two Grammy Awards for differing types of music, in 1997, and in 2002...
, Bob Mintzer
Bob Mintzer
Bob Mintzer is a jazz saxophonist, composer, arranger, and big band leader based in Los Angeles, California. Mintzer is a member of the jazz rock band the Yellowjackets.-With The Yellowjackets:*Greenhouse, 1991;*Live Wires, 1992;...
, Bill Watrous
Bill Watrous
William Russell Watrous III is a jazz trombonist. He is perhaps best known by casual fans of jazz music for his rendition of Sammy Nestico's arrangement of the Johnny Mandel ballad "A Time for Love," which he recorded on a 1993 album of the same name...
, Gerald Wilson
Gerald Wilson
Gerald Stanley Wilson is an American jazz trumpeter, big band bandleader, composer/arranger, 8 time Grammy nominee, and educator. He has been based in Los Angeles since the early 1940s....
, Allen Vizzutti
Allen Vizzutti
Allen Vizzutti is an American trumpeter, composer and music educator.Allen Vizzutti very recently recorded his first solo jazz album in some time. "Ritzville" which will be available November 1st, as announced by Vizzutti himself...
and Steve Houghton. In 1995, both the Jazz Combo I and the Jazz Ensemble I won their respective divisions at the Reno International Jazz Festival.
Henderson served as Head Brass Instructor and Brass Arranger for the 1989 DCI
Drum Corps International
Drum Corps International , formed in 1972, is the non-profit governing body operating the North American drum and bugle corps circuit for junior corps, whose members are between the ages of 14 and 21. It is the counterpart of Drum Corps Associates which governs senior or all-age drum corps...
Champion Santa Clara Vanguard, as Head Brass Instructor for the 1992 DCI Champion Cavaliers, and as Brass Arranger for the 1999 DCI Champion Santa Clara Vanguard. For the Summer of 2008, Henderson served as the Program Coordinator for the Troopers from Casper, WY, for their 50th Anniversary season.
Since 1990, Henderson has arranged the show music for the Tenrikyo Aimachi
Aimachi
Aimachi is a Tenrikyo church based in Nagoya, Japan. Outside of Japan, Aimachi is most known for its marching music and color guard ensembles. A selection from their 130 member marching band compete internationally as an indoor percussion ensembles, indoor marching ensembles, Baton twirling, and...
Marching Band from Nagoya, Japan, the eight-time All-Japan National Champions, and for several bands in Thailand including St. Paul Convent School, Horwang School, St. Joseph Seminary School and Mahathai School.
Henderson has composed or arranged band music for numerous motion pictures including Click, Road Trip
Road Trip
Road Trip is a 2000 American comedy film written by Todd Phillips and Scot Armstrong and directed by Todd Phillips.-Plot :The movie begins with Barry giving a tour of the University of Ithaca to some prospective students...
, First Daughter, In the Line of Fire
In the Line of Fire
In the Line of Fire is a 1993 American thriller film about a disillusioned and obsessed former CIA agent who attempts to assassinate the President of the United States and the Secret Service agent who tracks him...
, Little Nikita
Little Nikita
Little Nikita is a cult 1988 American drama film directed by Richard Benjamin and starring Sidney Poitier and River Phoenix.-Plot synopsis:...
, Don't Say A Word
Don't Say a Word
Don't Say a Word is a 2001 psychological thriller film starring Michael Douglas, Brittany Murphy and Sean Bean based on the novel of the same title by Andrew Klavan...
, and Legends of the Fall
Legends of the Fall
Legends of the Fall is a 1994 epic drama film based on the 1979 novella of the same title by Jim Harrison. It was directed by Edward Zwick and stars Brad Pitt, Anthony Hopkins and Aidan Quinn. The film was nominated for the Academy Awards for Best Cinematography, Best Art Direction , and Best...
.
In 1984, Henderson served as a Drill Designer and Assistant Director of the 736-member Olympic All-American Marching Band that performed at the Opening Ceremonies of the Los Angeles Olympic Games. Henderson designed the Band's drill for the "Swing Era" segment of the show and also instructed the Trumpet Section.
In July 2009, he served as an adjudicator at the World Band Contest held in Kekrade, Netherlands, and in December 2009 was a clinician for the Mahathai School Band in Khon Kaen, Thailand and the Montrose College School Band in Chiang Mai, Thailand, and served as an adjudicator for the Kuala Lumpur International Marching Band Championship where bands from Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore and Cambodia performed.
Henderson was born on May 7, 1953 in Fairfield, California, and lived in North Carolina, Montana and Maryland before attending the University of Kentucky
University of Kentucky
The University of Kentucky, also known as UK, is a public co-educational university and is one of the state's two land-grant universities, located in Lexington, Kentucky...
, where he received his B.M.M.E. in 1975 and his M.M.M.E. in 1977.
University Teaching
University of KentuckyUniversity of Kentucky
The University of Kentucky, also known as UK, is a public co-educational university and is one of the state's two land-grant universities, located in Lexington, Kentucky...
, Assistant Director of Bands 1977-82
UCLA, Director of the Bruin Marching Band 1982 to present
Drum and Bugle Corps Design, Instruction and Consulting
Imperial Guard, Evansville, IN, Drill Designer 1980Pride of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH, Drill Designer 1981
Guardsmen, Schaumberg, IL, Drill Designer 1982
Santa Clara Vanguard, Santa Clara, CA, Brass Instructor 1983-91, 1996-99, 2002, 2005; Visual Coordinator 1987-88; Brass Arranger 1988-91, 1996-99, 2002; Head Brass Instructor 1989-90
Cavaliers, Rosemont, IL, Head Brass Instructor 1992-94
Cadets, Allentown, PA, Brass Instructor 2003-04
Capital Regiment, Columbus, OH, Drill Designer, 2006
Troopers, Casper, WY, Program Coordinator 2008, Program Consultant 2009-10
The Academy, Tempe, AZ, Brass Consultant 2009
Pacific Crest, Diamond Bar, CA, Program and Performance Consultant 2010
Articles and References
Los Angeles Times - George and Ira Gershwin originally wrote the tune for 'Strike Up the Band for UCLA' in 1927.http://www.latimes.com/news/education/la-me-gershwin20mar20,1,1325902.storyUCLA Today - UCLA's solid gold music man http://www.today.ucla.edu/people/071120_ucla_gordon-henderson/
UCLA Magazine - Clothes Make the Band http://www.magazine.ucla.edu/features/bruin-marching-band/
Tenrikyo Aimachi Band, Nagoya, Japan http://www.aimachi.com/cn14/cn7/brass_section.html
UCLA Department of Music http://www.music.ucla.edu/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=68:gordon-henderson&catid=6&Itemid=225
Troopers Drum and Bugle Corps, Casper, WY http://members.troopersdrumcorps.org/staff.htm
Building the Green Machine, a biography of Cavaliers Founder Don Warren by Colt Foutz - Henderson's contribution to the Cavaliers' 1992 DCI Championship described by Don Warren in this book http://www.cavaliers.org/cgi-bin/store.pl?cmd=showprod&id=526
Santa Clara Vanguard Drum and Bugle Corps Historical Archives - 1989 http://www.scvanguard.org/history/view.cfm?uid=e9b2c9fa-70eb-4bf9-9f26-b131044ac4a2 and 1999 http://www.scvanguard.org/history/view.cfm?uid=35284997-0480-43cb-8f47-f59c64c89aff
The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) - List of Creditshttp://www.ascap.com/ace/search.cfm?requesttimeout=300&mode=results&searchstr=1516129&search_in=c&search_type=exact&search_det=t,s,w,p,b,v&results_pp=20&start=1
University of Kentucky Bands History http://www.uky.edu/StudentOrgs/KappaKappaPsi/history.htm