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Ed Kiefer graduated from Wake Forest University with honors in 1976. He received his Master of Music Education in 1990 from UNC Greensboro. He served as the Director of Bands at East Davidson High School in Thomasville for 28 years, and as Director of Instrumental Music at Pfeiffer University for six years. His wind ensemble and jazz bands have performed at the NCMEA conference numerous times, where he has also presented clinics. His concert bands at East placed over 40% of the bands in All-District Band each of the last five years of his tenure there. Kiefer adjudicates regularly in marching, concert and jazz festivals and has adjudicated festivals across the country. He has served as clinician for jazz and wind ensembles for many county, district and state events, including North Carolina All-State, honor clinics in 12 different states and regularly adjudicates the South Carolina State Jazz Festival. He was awarded the Jaycees Young Educator of the Year Award in 1994, and has been recognized by his fellow band directors with the Award of Excellence.

Kiefer served on the committee that began the NAfME Mentoring Program and continues to work with young directors as part of the program. He travels to band rooms to help directors all over North Carolina, last year working as a clinician at over 100 concert band rehearsals. He has served on the board of directors for the Central and Northwest District Bandmasters Associations, the Marching Band Committee, headed the Solo and Ensemble Festival for Central and Northwest District for 15 years, and founded and organized the Eastside Jazz Festival in Thomasville, NC, which featured premiere jazz talent from all over the country, attracting over 1,500 visitors annually.

Through Carl Fischer and C. Alan Publications, Kiefer has had over 40 commissions for band and percussion ensemble, all of which have been published, and many of which are on state festival MPA lists. You will also find several of his percussion ensemble pieces on state solo and ensemble lists. His publications, both for band and percussion, have been performed world-wide and have been featured at the Midwest Clinic in Chicago. He was honored to perform on the conch shell with the service band at Midwest as they performed his “In Search of the Lost Colony” and “Mountain Dance.” Several of his pieces have been placed in Bandworld’s top 100 new pieces for band, including two in 2016. His “Bluegrass Rondeau” for percussion ensemble received favorable reviews by PAS in
Percussive Notes Magazine. In addition, several of his compositions have been chosen for the Editor’s Choice Award by Pepper music. He regularly guest conducts his music at clinics and concerts across the country, including eight performances at the state conference.