K-State School of Music, Theatre, and Dance

06/01/2026

Please help us welcome Xan Perkins to the MTD faculty as Instructor and Assistant Director of Bands beginning this fall.

Xan Perkins is a music educator, artist, and researcher coming from Northwestern Oklahoma State University in Alva, OK where he has been serving as Director of Bands and Instrumental Studies. At NWOSU, Xan directed the University Symphonic Band, NWOSU Jazz Ensemble, the Ranger Marching Band, taught low brass applied lessons, music theory, arranging, and music education classes.

Prior to NWOSU, Xan began a Ph.D. at Washington State University through the Individual Interdisciplinary Doctoral Program, where he also served as a Graduate Assistant for the WSU Cougar Marching Band and directed the Cougar Volleyball Band. He holds a Master of Music in Performance from the University of Northern Colorado (2019) and a Bachelor of Arts in Music Performance from Kansas State University (2016).

Xan has distinguished himself as an in-demand low brass performer, earning a semi-finalist placement at the 2023 Leonard Falcone Festival and a 3rd place finish at the 2024 Northwest Regional Tuba and Euphonium Conference Artist Competition. He has performed with the Mid-Columbia Symphony, Clarion Brass, Walla Walla Symphony, Tulsa's King Cabbage Brass Band, and Kansas City's Back Alley Brass Band. He has also collaborated with celebrated musicians including Sam Pilafian, Jose Sibaja, Tim Buzzbee, and the Boston Brass. For the past four years, Xan has been a regular guest soloist with the Manhattan Municipal Band under the direction of Dr. Frank Tracz.

As an educator and scholar, Xan is passionate about inspiring students to engage with their local communities through music. His teaching and research draw on culturally relevant pedagogy and center the role of music in fostering an understanding of diversity and culture, with particular interest in jazz history, Second Line brass band traditions, brass methods, and athletic bands.

K-State Marching Band, K-State Bands

06/01/2026

MTD Faculty Dan Hinman (trombone) and Amanda Arrington (piano), along with collaborator Zachariah Davis from Texas Woman's University, have been invited to perform at the 2026 International Trombone Festival in Riga, Latvia. The International Trombone Festival is the largest conference for the trombone community. Their collaborative presentation is a recital entitled The Trombone Music of Carolina Calvache. The festival will take place July 28-August 1.

https://www.internationaltrombonefestival.com/2026-presenters

05/31/2026

We're looking for creative and motivated students to join the MTD Marketing staff for the 2026-2027 school year. These new team members will help promote the vibrancy of the performing arts at K-State through visual media - video, photography, and graphic design.

Applications are welcome through June 8 on Handshake.
https://www.k-state.edu/careercenter/students/lets_go/handshake/

05/30/2026

REGISTRATION CLOSES TOMORROW!

Rising 9th-12th graders are invited to join us for six days of creativity, collaboration, and performance on the beautiful K-State campus as part of the Visual & Performing Arts Academy.

Experiences lead by K-State faculty members are available in Musical Theatre, Theatre, Choir, Visual Arts, Dance, and Technical Theatre/Audio Production.

Tuition is only $439, which includes the cost of housing in the K-State residence halls plus meals!

Learn more and register by May 31 at k-state.edu/mtd/vpaa

05/27/2026

Please help us welcome Dr. David Charles Tay to the MTD faculty as Assistant Professor of Voice beginning this fall.

Hailed as one of “Singapore’s finest operatic talents,” tenor David Charles Tay is recognized for his stylistic versatility, compelling stage presence and vocal artistry described as “delightful in warmth and impressive in projection.” His work encompasses opera, concert, and recital repertoire, with performances across Asia, Europe and the United States.

In 2025, Tay appeared as Jason in Charpentier’s "Médée" as part of the Voilah! Festival commemorating 60 years of diplomatic relations between France and Singapore. Upcoming engagements include performances with the Atlanta Opera in the newly commissioned opera "Rosenbaum and Li" in June 2026, and a return to the Italian repertory as Alfredo in Verdi’s "La traviata" in Singapore in October 2026.

Tay is also the Artistic Director of The Opera People, one of Singapore’s leading independent opera companies. Under his leadership, the company has developed a reputation for innovative programming that engages contemporary audiences through interdisciplinary collaboration, accessibility initiatives and socially responsive performance-making.

Alongside his performing career, Tay is an established voice teacher, vocal coach and choral clinician. Since 2011, he has served as vocal coach for the Anglo-Chinese Junior College Choir and its alumni ensemble, preparing singers for concerts, recordings, international tours and competitions, including award-winning appearances at the Tampere Vocal Music Festival and the Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod. He is regularly invited to lead workshops and masterclasses for school, university and community ensembles in Singapore and abroad.

Read Dr. Tay's full bio: k-state.edu/mtd/about/faculty-staff/tay/

05/23/2026

REGISTISTRATION DEADLINE EXTENDED!

Rising 9th-12th graders are invited to join us for six days of creativity, collaboration, and performance on the beautiful K-State campus as part of the Visual & Performing Arts Academy.

Experiences lead by K-State faculty members are available in Musical Theatre, Theatre, Choir, Visual Arts, Dance, and Technical Theatre/Audio Production.

Tuition is only $439, which includes the cost of housing in the K-State residence halls plus meals!

Learn more and register by May 31 at k-state.edu/mtd/vpaa

Tuition: $439Tuition includes includes the cost of housing, meals, and a camp t-shirt.Extended registration deadline: May 31, 2026

05/22/2026

Go behind the scenes with the director of The Well-Lit Shadow.

This is homegrown theatre at its finest. Join us this weekend for an original production born from the archives of the Eisenhower Presidential Library, developed right here in Kansas by the talent of Kansas State University Theatre, and brought to life in honor of America's 250th anniversary.

Three performances only. May 22, 23, and 24. Free admission. Right here in Abilene.

Do not miss this one.

Get your ticket at eventbrite.com

05/21/2026

This week, the doors of the Library auditorium open on something that has never been done here before.
"The Well-Lit Shadow" is an original play born from the archives of this Library. Kansas State University Theatre students and faculty took the actual documents of the Eisenhower era and turned them into a work of live theatre. A story made in Kansas. History made in Abilene

Three performances: Friday May 22 at 7 p.m., Saturday May 23 at 7 p.m., Sunday May 24 at 2 p.m. All free.
Get your ticket: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-well-lit-shadow-tickets-1984481572805
If you have ever wished history would just come alive, this weekend it does.
More info: eisenhowerlibrary.gov

05/21/2026

Our instrument repair program is in the news once again!

Keeping musical instruments in good repair can be expensive, especially for high school bands. But a Kansas State University program is helping rural schools keep their bands sounding top notch.