Meet the awesome board members who are working to provide resources to students and educators around the state of Iowa.

Mr. Chris Strohmaier is the founding director of the Waukee Northwest High School band program. In addition to overseeing the day-to-day operations of the program, Mr. Strohmaier directs the Northwest Wind Symphony, the Northwest Jazz Orchestra, and oversees numerous chamber ensembles. Prior to moving across town, Mr. Strohmaier taught for six years at Waukee High School where he directed the award-winning Waukee Warrior Regiment and nationally recognized Waukee Jazz One. In addition to numerous state-level honors, bands under Mr. Strohmaier’s direction have appeared in the Rose Parade (2022) and been recognized by DownBeat Magazine as outstanding national ensembles (2018, 2019, 2020, 2022).
Mr. Strohmaier is a past-president of the Iowa Bandmasters Association, South-Central district of IBA and is the president-elect of Jazz Educators of Iowa. He has written articles for both the Teaching Music Through Performance in Band and the Teaching Music Through Performance in Jazz book series published by GIA Publications. An active trumpet player, Mr. Strohmaier is a member of the Des Moines Big Band, the Nate Sparks Big Band, and the Metropolitan Brass Quintet. Mr. Strohmaier holds degrees from Drake University and Boston University, and lives in Johnston with his lovely wife Phaedra.