Carl Bly - Washington, DC
Prior to retiring from public school education in 2001 Mr. Bly taught for 30 years at Centreville High School and Lake Braddock Secondary School in Fairfax County, and J. R. Tucker High School in Richmond, VA, and was Concert Band and Orchestra Director at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. Currently Mr. Bly is Adjunct Assistant Professor at Shenandoah University in Winchester, VA. Mr. Bly, a native of Carbondale, PA, is a third generation high school band director. He holds a Bachelors degree in Music Education from Shenandoah Conservatory of Music in Winchester, VA, and a Masters degree in Conducting from George Mason University in Fairfax, VA. Additionally he has studied conducting with Anthony Maiello, Ret. Col. Arnold Gabriel of the United States Air Force Band, Jacque Houtmann of the Richmond Symphony, and Dr. Richard Lert at the American Symphony Orchestra League’s Summer Institute.
Mr. Bly is a past President of the Virginia Band & Orchestra Directors Association, Past President of the Virginia Chapter of Phi Beta Mu, and was a member of the Music Committee for the National Federation of State High School Association in Indianapolis, IN. He has received three Citations of Excellence from the National Band Association, the Philip J. Fuller Service Award from the Virginia Band and Orchestra Directors Association, and has been honored by the Fairfax County School Board and Board of Supervisors on numerous occasions. Mr. Bly is in constant demand as an adjudicator and conductor of Regional and All-State events. In the marching area Mr. Bly adjudicates for Bands of America, USSBA, and Drum Corps International.
Mr. Bly’s Concert and Marching Bands have enjoyed International reputations. Along with the numerous first place awards his Concert Bands have received, his Symphonic Bands have performed on Friday night at the prestigious Mid-West Band and Orchestra Clinic in Chicago, Bands of America’s National Concert Band Festival in Indianapolis, the Virginia Music Educators In-Service Conferences, and in the Concert Hall of the John F. Kennedy Center and DAR Constitution Hall in Washington, DC, the Legrande Theatre in Quebec, Canada, and the Filene Center for the Performing Arts at Wolf Trap, in Virginia. In addition to the many awards received by his Marching Bands, Mr. Bly’s bands have been a finalist at the Bands of America’s Grand National Championships in Indianapolis, IN, and they have performed half-time shows for the Washington Redskins, the University of Virginia and the University of Richmond as well as performing for the Atlanta Braves, St. Louis Cardinals, and the Chicago White Sox baseball teams.