DIRECTOR 

BRANDON BITNER

Band Director Brandon W. Bitner is in his eighth year of teaching and directing bands and ensembles at Central Dauphin High School.  Mr. Bitner directs the CD Jazz Orchestra, 11 O'Clock Big Band, and 12 O'Clock Big Band and the Wind Ensemble, and teaches beginning Music Theory and AP Music Theory.  He is also the director of the Pit Orchestra for the musical.  Prior to teaching at CDHS, he taught at E.H. Phillips and Rutherford Elementary Schools in the Central Dauphin School District.  

Mr. Bitner holds a Bachelor of Music in Music Education degree from Mansfield University of Pennsylvania, and a degree in Music Vocations from Southwestern Community College in

Creston, Iowa. 

In addition to teaching, Mr. Bitner is an active performer here in the south central Pennsylvania area.  He sings and plays saxophone with the Lower Paxton Variety Band, sings with the One More Time combo, and is a member of Voices of the Valley.  Mr. Bitner has conducted the pit orchestra with Keystone Theatrics at Allenberry Playhouse and the Carlisle Theatre Company. 

Mr. Bitner holds membership in the National Association for Music Education, Pennsylvania Music Educators Association, Jazz Education Network, and is a life-long member of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia.

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DIRECTOR 

SAMUEL TATE

Band Director Samuel Tate begins his first year as a music educator and director of bands at Central Dauphin High School.  He teaches and directs two percussion ensembles, and the Freshman Concert Band.  He teaches a guitar class as well as a class on wind instrument techniques.  He is the director of the Central Dauphin High School Ram Marching Band, which competes in Tournament of Bands sanctioned events in Pennsylvania and surrounding states. He previously taught in the Gettysburg Area School District, Pennsylvania, and Howard County Public Schools,

Howard County, Maryland.

Mr. Tate holds a Bachelors of Music Education degree from the Pennsylvania State University, and a Masters of Music degree from Towson University in Maryland.

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Well versed in multiple musical styles, his previous playing tenures include Penn State and Towson University Ensembles, including four years as member of the Penn State Blue Band.  He was principal trumpet of the Hunt Valley Symphony Orchestra, played in multiple small chamber ensembles in the Greater Baltimore Area, as well as performing other freelance performances. He was selected to perform in New York City with the Mid Atlantic Collegiate Jazz Orchestra,

under the direction of Eric Richards.

Mr. Tate can be found playing lead trumpet with the Dave Neith Jazz Orchestra, the Lehigh Valley Italian American Band, and other concert bands in the Lehigh Valley. He continues to serve as Assistant Director of Bands at Moravian College in Bethlehem.