Rachel Maxwell currently serves as the Director of Bands at Traughber Junior High School and has served as the Junior High Band Coordinator for SD #308 in Oswego, IL. She has taught music education courses at VanderCook College of Music in Chicago and North Central College in Naperville, IL, and has been invited to be a guest conductor, clinician, and adjudicator at a number of music camps and festivals nationally including the Music for All National Summer Symposium, the NC All-State Middle School Band, ISYM at the Univ. of Illinois, Il State Univ. Junior High Camp and several ILMEA District Level Festivals.
Mrs. Maxwell has degrees from Illinois State University (BME), The University of Illinois (MME), Aurora University (MAEL) and completed additional coursework in team-building, leadership, and working with diverse students. She is currently a Doctor of Musical Arts candidate at Boston University. Mrs. Maxwell taught band in the West Aurora School District (1993-95) and in the Oswego School District (1995-present).
A proponent of new music for young bands, she is part of the team from Oswego SD #308 that commissioned and premiered Sheltering Sky by John Mackey, Sol ye Sombra by Donald Grantham, Atmosphere by Scott McAllister, Our Cast Aways by Julie Giroux, and Dream of Ember, Dream of Star by David Biedenbender, and an upcoming work by Omar Thomas (2024). She independently commissioned a setting of L'Inglesina arr by Andrew Hunter, A Darkening Twilight Sky by Kent Baker, Blackstar Alpha by JaRod Hall, and an upcoming work by Katahj Copley for 2024. Maxwell is also involved in several consortium commissions: Shubuduba by Dana Wilson, The N-BEAM Group, Garden Suite by Randall Standridge, Float by Roy Magnuson, Love and Light by Brian Balmages, Unspoken by Katahj Copley, The Salt March by Aakash Mittal, a new Alex Shapiro Consortium, a Haley Woodrow Consortium Project TBA, The Next Music Project Consortium (with Joni Greene, Ivette Herryman Rodriguez, Aaron Perrine), and Consortium for Native Composers by Keith Secola. She is a founding member of The Kneel Consortium.
Under her direction the bands at Traughber JHS have received national acclaim and have performed at The Midwest Clinic (two clinic presentations and one rehearsal lab group), the Illinois Music Educators Association All State Conference (three formal concerts and four clinic presentations), the University of Illinois Super-state Festival and at the ASBDA National Convention.
Rachel Maxwell is a member of The National Association of Music Education, Illinois Music Educators Association, American School Band Directors Association, National Band Association, National Council of Supervisors of Music Education, Pi Kappa Lambda, Phi Beta Mu and a number of honor societies. She is a multiple year nominee for the Music Educator Grammy Award, 5 time recipient of the National Band Association Citation of Excellence, Chicago-land Outstanding Music Educator Award, National Recipient of the Jim Ott (Drum Corps International) Scholarship, ASBDA/UMI Outstanding Young Band Director Award-Junior High Division for the North Central Region of the United States and a Golden Apple nominee.
Mrs. Maxwell has degrees from Illinois State University (BME), The University of Illinois (MME), Aurora University (MAEL) and completed additional coursework in team-building, leadership, and working with diverse students. She is currently a Doctor of Musical Arts candidate at Boston University. Mrs. Maxwell taught band in the West Aurora School District (1993-95) and in the Oswego School District (1995-present).
A proponent of new music for young bands, she is part of the team from Oswego SD #308 that commissioned and premiered Sheltering Sky by John Mackey, Sol ye Sombra by Donald Grantham, Atmosphere by Scott McAllister, Our Cast Aways by Julie Giroux, and Dream of Ember, Dream of Star by David Biedenbender, and an upcoming work by Omar Thomas (2024). She independently commissioned a setting of L'Inglesina arr by Andrew Hunter, A Darkening Twilight Sky by Kent Baker, Blackstar Alpha by JaRod Hall, and an upcoming work by Katahj Copley for 2024. Maxwell is also involved in several consortium commissions: Shubuduba by Dana Wilson, The N-BEAM Group, Garden Suite by Randall Standridge, Float by Roy Magnuson, Love and Light by Brian Balmages, Unspoken by Katahj Copley, The Salt March by Aakash Mittal, a new Alex Shapiro Consortium, a Haley Woodrow Consortium Project TBA, The Next Music Project Consortium (with Joni Greene, Ivette Herryman Rodriguez, Aaron Perrine), and Consortium for Native Composers by Keith Secola. She is a founding member of The Kneel Consortium.
Under her direction the bands at Traughber JHS have received national acclaim and have performed at The Midwest Clinic (two clinic presentations and one rehearsal lab group), the Illinois Music Educators Association All State Conference (three formal concerts and four clinic presentations), the University of Illinois Super-state Festival and at the ASBDA National Convention.
Rachel Maxwell is a member of The National Association of Music Education, Illinois Music Educators Association, American School Band Directors Association, National Band Association, National Council of Supervisors of Music Education, Pi Kappa Lambda, Phi Beta Mu and a number of honor societies. She is a multiple year nominee for the Music Educator Grammy Award, 5 time recipient of the National Band Association Citation of Excellence, Chicago-land Outstanding Music Educator Award, National Recipient of the Jim Ott (Drum Corps International) Scholarship, ASBDA/UMI Outstanding Young Band Director Award-Junior High Division for the North Central Region of the United States and a Golden Apple nominee.
