Leadership

Clifton Weston

Director

Clifton Weston is a graduate from the University of Arizona School of Music. During his time as a graduate teaching assistant, he served as coordinator and director for the UA Outreach Honor Band, Chair and Coordinator of the UA High School Honor Band, and conductor of the UA Symphonic Band. Under the mentorship of Gregg Hanson and Chad Nicholson, Weston earned his Master of Music in Wind Band Conducting in the spring of 2017. In the fall of 2014, Weston earned his Bachelor of Music in clarinet performance and music education from The University of Arizona. During his time at Arizona, Weston offered master classes to students of all ages throughout the Tucson community, as well as working with the Flowing Wells High School Marching Band with teaching mentor Ellen Kirkbride.

Since 2017, Weston has been teaching in the Tucson Unified School District at Magee Middle School and the surrounding elementaries. Within the Tucson Unified School District, Weston plays an integral part in the Instrument Repair Shop which is responsible for over 10,000 district owned instruments.

Since the fall of 2017, Weston has been on staff with The Pride of Arizona Marching Band at The University of Arizona. Over the years Clifton has held various roles in the organization as winds instructor, drum major coach, administrative assistant, Coordinator of UA Band Day,  and is “The Voice” of the Pride of Arizona Marching Band at all games and performances.

In the spring of 2018, Clifton was appointed Assistant Conductor of Sonora Winds, a local community wind ensemble here in Tucson, AZ. In the fall of 2024, Weston was appointed full Music Director of Sonora Winds, and will continue the work of bringing the best of wind band music performances to Southern Arizona.

Dr. Karin Nolan

Former Director

Dr. Karin Nolan is an Assistant Professor of Music Education at The University of Arizona, where she teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in music education, including student teaching seminars, band techniques, secondary methods, quantitative/qualitative research methods, and careers in music.

She also directs the Office of Field Experiences, the Camerata Music Career Development Program, and the Outreach Middle School Honor Band.

Through her career development series, she has made a name for herself as the guru for job-readiness materials for her music students (such as assisting with the idea of branding themselves, websites, resumes, cover letters, business cards, demo recordings, marketing materials, promo kits, etc.).

Nolan enjoys and seeks out community collaborations, often partnering with non-profit institutions and school districts around the state to assist them with their musical needs and outreach. She is currently partnering with faculty from the School of Speech and Hearing Sciences to continue the annual “Music & Health” seminar, dedicated to research in vocal and hearing health of musicians and music educators. Nolan works closely with the Tucson Desert Song Festival’s education outreach, helping to put together the yearly K-12 Songwriting Competition.

She is the former music director of the Sonora Winds, a Tucson-based community wind ensemble. In the past, she has also developed music curriculum for the Tucson Symphony Orchestra, Arizona Opera, Arizona Theatre Company, and the Tucson Museum of Art.

She received her PhD in Music Education with an emphasis in Educational Psychology in 2009 from The University of Arizona. Prior to joining the faculty at the UA College of Fine Arts and the Fred Fox School of Music in 2011, Nolan enjoyed a rewarding career teaching K-12 general music, band, orchestra, and choir in Tucson-area schools for ten years.