Nicholas Bratcher serves as Director of Bands and Assistant Professor of Music at California State University, San Bernardino (CSUSB). There, he conducts the Symphonic Wind Ensemble, Chamber Winds, and teaches courses in conducting and music education. Prior to his appointment at CSUSB, Bratcher held positions as Director of Bands at the University of Dubuque (Dubuque, IA) and Assistant Director o
f Bands at Savannah State University (Savannah, GA). In both roles, Bratcher helped grow and develop comprehensive band programs with educational outreach initiatives for public school students and directors; as well as several wind and jazz ensemble performance tours throughout the southeastern United States.
Bratcher consistently works with composers, arrangers, and performing artists throughout the country. Projects with new compositions and wind literature are integral to his creative work. Bratcher is published in the GIA Teaching Music through Performance in Band book series. He is an active guest conductor, clinician, adjudicator, and performer. Bratcher has presented clinics in Iowa, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Texas, Wisconsin, Massachusetts, Washington, Minnesota, and Alabama. Recent professional engagements off campus include serving as the founding conductor and (now) conductor emeritus of the Julien Winds, a professional wind ensemble serving the tri-state area (Iowa, Illinois, Wisconsin). In their fourth year, the ensemble performed at Carnegie Hall in June of 2018.
Current professional engagements on campus include the design and implementation of a regional honor band festival serving area secondary schools; a summer music camp for secondary school instrumental music students; and wind transcriptions of African-British composer, Samuel Coleridge-Taylor.
Bratcher earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Music and a Master of Arts in Music Education from Coastal Carolina University. He later earned the Doctorate in Music Education with a minor in Conducting from the University of Georgia where he studied with Mary Leglar, John Lynch, and Mark Cedel, respectfully. Fraternally, Nicholas is a LIFE Member of the Zeta Eta chapter at South Carolina State University, and has served as Chapter Sponsor for the Lambda Upsilon chapter of Kappa Kappa Psi (2009-2013) and the re-chartered Iota Zeta chapter of Tau Beta Sigma (2010-2013); Musicianship Director on the Kappa Kappa Psi National Alumni Association Board of Directors (2015-2017), and currently serves as Kappa Kappa Psi National Vice President for Programs. Additionally, he is an active member of these organizations: College Band Directors National Association (CBDNA), Minority Band Directors National Association, World Association for Symphonic Band and Ensembles (WASBE), National Association for Music Education (NAfME), Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia, and Tau Beta Sigma as an honorary member. Dear Brothers,
It is with great enthusiasm and humility that I offer myself as a candidate for the Kappa Kappa Psi National Vice President for Programs. I have been a brother of Kappa Kappa Psi since being initiated at the Zeta Eta chapter at South Carolina State University in 2006. As an undergraduate student leader within the band program, I became aware of the Fraternity’s role within the college band and the ideals represented by the brotherhood and expressed in our purposes. After being initiated, I gained a better understanding of these ideals and found they paralleled with what I had chosen as my profession. Due to a family illness, I later transferred to Coastal Carolina University shortly after becoming a brother in order to be closer to home. Here, I was able to work with the Lambda Theta chapter of Kappa Kappa Psi as Chair of several committees and chapter representative at district and national conventions. In 2009, I accepted the position of Assistant Director of Bands at Savannah State University in Savannah, Georgia. Here, in addition to my teaching duties, I became the Chapter Sponsor for the Lambda Upsilon chapter of Kappa Kappa Psi and helped re-charter the Iota Zeta chapter of Tau Beta Sigma in 2011. In 2013, I accepted a position as the Director of Instrumental Music and Assistant Professor at the University of Dubuque in Dubuque, Iowa. In 2015, I was appointed to the National Alumni Association Board of Directors as musicianship director for Kappa Kappa Psi. In this capacity, I work with the other directors to facilitate relations with our alumni brothers and help govern alumni associations throughout the Fraternity. As musicianship director, I also coordinate the concerto competition held during each National Convention. As a band conductor, I am familiar with the role that leadership plays in any musically based organization. As a LIFE member of Kappa Kappa Psi and member of the National Alumni Association Board of Directors, I know that our Fraternity must first continue to be pro-active in its financial foundations. The recent gift initiatives and program donation drives only help to ensure the security and financial support of the Fraternity. Second, alumni retention and involvement must continue to increase in a positive manner. Many alumni association chapters have surfaced in order to cultivate support for our craft throughout their local and regional areas. By our Fraternity’s centennial, I would like to see that number increased significantly. By continuing to promote our alumni association networks and LIFE membership opportunities, I believe this is achievable. Last, and most certainly conducive to the office of Vice President for Programs, is the promotion and implementation of our programs that educate and stimulate collegiate members. These must be taken into consideration if we, as a brotherhood, are to continue thriving in an ever-changing economy and academic setting. We must continue to examine and re-evaluate our programs so they remain effective to our brotherhood. My constant worry for Kappa Kappa Psi is how do we remain ‘relevant’? Are we recruiting the most “outstanding” band members? Are college band directors convinced that Kappa Kappa Psi actually enhances their program? If so, how can we maintain and strengthen that relationship? If not, how do we establish and build that relationship? These are questions that need to be addressed now more than ever as we stand on the precipice of our centennial. Our National Intercollegiate Band and Commissioning programs are thriving. However, I would like to see even more chapter involvement in our programs and awards. As a brother who has experienced the “active membership” phase, then as a chapter sponsor and college band director, I am able to view the fraternity from a triad of perspectives. Many times, there are students who work within their respective chapters that are not always recognized for their efforts simply because they are not aware that such recognition exists, or they may feel that their smaller chapter would be overshadowed by larger chapters, despite a great amount of quality work displayed by each. The awards given by our Fraternity each biennium could serve to bolster the performances of all chapters, which in turn, would supplement the relationship that college chapters have with their band directors and the college band program, respectively. I believe that the more chapters that vie for these awards, the stronger Kappa Kappa Psi will grow as a whole due to each chapter striving for their highest potential each and every biennium. This way, we could bolster our contribution to the musical and the social component of our Fraternity with more recognition experiences and opportunities for our brothers. The feeling one gets from making good music with their peers is one that I feel is rarely imitated anywhere else. That is one of the primary reasons for choosing my career. As the concept of college bands continues to move forward and evolve, I am thankful that this performance medium is one where musicians of all disciplines, concentrations, and majors may come together for harmony, above all else. Kappa Kappa Psi has provided me with many of my most lasting relationships; both as a brother and a conductor. I feel it is my responsibility to give back to a Fraternity that has given me a foundational perspective on my profession and myself. Therefore, I respectfully ask to be considered for Vice President for Programs for the National Council of Kappa Kappa Psi National Honorary Band Fraternity Incorporated. Fraternally,
Nicholas Bratcher
