About Dr. Hodgson

ABOUT ME:

• American Music Abroad, Head Director, Music Tours of Europe (28 years)
• Artistic Director/ Founding Conductor, The South Jersey Area Wind Ensemble (1997-present)
• Former Associate Professor of Music Education, University of the Arts, 8 years
• Former High School Music Educator (NJ), Instrumental Music, 26 years
• Past President,  Eastern Division of the National Association for Music Education (NAfME)
• Past President, New Jersey Music Educators Association (NJMEA)

• Dr. Hodgson has received numerous accolades for his conducting, musical direction, teaching, and leadership including:

2024 

National Winner, American Prize in the Community Band Division

2024 

Association of Concert Bands, Outstanding Conductor Award

2016 

New Jersey Music Educators Distinguished Service Award

2014 

NJ Governors Award for Leadership in Music

2006 

Sudler Silver Scroll Award from the John Philip Sousa Foundation

2003 

National Board Certification, first NBPTS Music Certificate in NJ

• Dr. Hodgson has over 20 years of experience guest conducting numerous honor ensembles in AK, AL, CT, NJ, NY, PA, as well as Austria, Belgium, Croatia, the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Holland, Hungary, Italy, Luxembourg, Slovenia, and Switzerland.

FULL BIOGRAPHY:

Dr. Keith W. Hodgson is a highly experienced music educator, clinician, and conductor with a distinguished teaching career spanning over 26 years in New Jersey and eight years as a professor of Music Education at the University of The Arts in Philadelphia. During his tenure at the university, he served as the Director of the Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) program and taught graduate and undergraduate courses in conducting and percussion methods. He also coordinated student teaching, supervising graduate student teachers in their elementary and secondary field placements.

As the Conductor and Music Director for the South Jersey Area Wind Ensemble (SJAWE), Dr. Hodgson has led this ensemble of music educators and professional musicians since its founding in 1997. Under his leadership, the ensemble received the Sudler Silver Scroll Award from the John Philip Sousa Foundation in 2006, was a 2021 finalist for The American Prize in the Community Band Division and recently declared the 2024 national winner! The SJAWE has performed at national and state conventions, including the 2014 and2019 Association of Concert Bands national conventions, and has a rich history of commissioning new works and collaborating with guest conductors. The ensemble has also performed at the Kennedy Center for the Sousa Band Festival and toured Austria and Germany in 2007.

Dr. Hodgson is also the Head Director of the American Music Abroad Gold Tour, an annual three-week summer tour featuring band, choral, and orchestra students performing in six European countries. With over 25 years of experience leading group tours, he has conducted performances for European audiences in countries including Austria, Belgium, Croatia, the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Holland, Hungary, Italy, Luxembourg, Slovenia, and Switzerland. In 2024, he led AMA's first adult community band and choir tour to Europe, involving musicians from 14 states, and will be expanding these adult performance opportunities abroad.

In addition to his work with ensembles, Dr. Hodgson is deeply involved with music education organizations. He is a Past-President of the New Jersey Music Educators Association (NJMEA), Past President of the Eastern Division of the National Association for Music Education (NAfME), and has served as Chair of NAfME’s Professional Learning and Partnerships Committee (PLPC). He sits on the Boards of Directors for the Bushwackers Drum and Bugle Corps, NJMEA’s Crescendo Foundation, and the South Jersey Area Wind Ensemble. As a Conn-Selmer Educational Clinician and Director of Education for Zeswitz Music, he is actively engaged in professional development, guest conducting, and presenting at conferences across the country. His expertise is further recognized through his presentations at prestigious events like the Midwest Clinic in Chicago.

Academically, Dr. Hodgson holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Music Education from William Paterson University, NJ, and a Master’s Degree in School Leadership and Administration from Rowan University, NJ, with certifications as a supervisor and principal. In 2024, he earned his Doctorate in Leadership and Learning with a specialization in Organizational Leadership from Aspen University in Phoenix, Arizona. His dissertation, “All The World is a Stage: A Global Classroom” explored the transformative potential of cultivating global citizenship through travel, culture, music, and social engagement. This research investigated the perceptions and experiences of high school musicians traveling and performing on a three-week music tour through Europe and focused on the impact of these experiences on their basic psychological needs and their global citizenship mindset.

Dr. Hodgson’s contributions to music education have been recognized with numerous accolades, including the 2014 New Jersey Governor's Award in the Arts for Leadership in Music and the 2016 Distinguished Service Award from the New Jersey Music Educators Association. Dr. Hodgson is a National Board Certified Teacher, was a Grammy-Nominated Music Educator Quarter-Finalist in 2014, and most recently was awarded the Outstanding Conductor Award by the Association of Concert Bands. He resides in Egg Harbor Township, NJ, with his wife Jennifer, also a music educator, and their five dogs: Jack, Buddy, Mya, Mindy, and Winston.