Rickey Hauʻoli Badua is recognized globally as an educator and conductor driven by a passionate belief in the unifying power of music-making in the wind band community. Dr. Badua is the Director of Bands and Associate Professor of Music at California State Polytechnic University (Cal Poly Pomona) in Pomona, CA.  He conducts the Wind Ensemble and Symphonic Winds, teaches beginning and instrumental conducting, mentors and advises music majors, and oversees all aspects of the wind studies program.

Dr. Badua is a champion of new wind band repertoire, most recently commissioning E Ala Ē: Arise and Awaken by award winning composer James David, which evokes the spirit of Badua’s native state while elegantly paying homage to Native Hawaiian musical traditions. In addition to leading the California Wind Band Consortium and the Pacific Rim Chamber Wind Ensemble Consortium, Badua has fervently supported new music as a member of over 42 commissioning consortiums. 

Dr. Badua is active as a conference lecturer throughout the U.S. and abroad, having presented at the Midwest International Band & Orchestra Clinic, Oxford Conducting Institute, International Society for Research & Promotion of Wind Music, College Band Directors National Conference, California All-State Music Educators Conference, Southern California School Band & Orchestra Association Conference, Georgia Music Educators Association Conference, and the National Association for Music Education-Northwest Division Conference. As a conductor and clinician, he has brought his energy and expertise on the podium to hundreds of programs throughout California and beyond. Highlights include conducting the Southern California Schools Symphonic Honor Band, Washington All-State Wind Symphony, and serving as one of the first American conductors to guest conduct the Admiralty Navy Band of St. Petersburg, Russia.

Following the award of a special grant from the California State University Chancellor, Dr. Badua traveled to Sydney, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok, Kobe, Osaka, and Tokyo to study global wind band developments through extensive observation and personal interviews. In addition to this ethnographic research conducted at secondary and collegiate institutions, Rickey is deeply passionate about exploring community wind bands, particularly those that bring together musicians from diverse backgrounds. Invigorated by cultural exchange, he has continued his exploration of wind band programs with numerous guest conducting engagements with established programs in Australia, Costa Rica, Hawaiʻi, Japan, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Spain and Thailand. Through his research and guest conducting engagements, Badua has forged and fostered a rich network of international collaborations.

Early in his career, Badua taught public school as Director of Bands and Arts Department Chair at Peninsula High School and was the Music Coordinator of the Peninsula School District in Gig Harbor, Washington. Dr. Badua led the development of a comprehensive band program which included Wind Ensemble, Symphonic Band, Jazz Band, Percussion Ensemble, Marching Band, Color Guard and Winter Guard. During his tenure, he raised the standard of excellence, leading each ensemble to consistently receive “Superior” ratings at festivals and regional contests, most notably the Wind Ensemble’s featured performance at the National Association for Music Education Conference-Northwest in Bellevue, WA. 

Prior to his appointment at California State Polytechnic University, Dr. Badua earned his Doctor of Musical Arts in Wind Conducting degree from the University of Georgia where he studied with Dr. John P. Lynch. While at UGA, Rickey was the recipient of the Director’s Excellence award and the Outstanding Graduate Teaching Assistant award. Dr. Badua earned his Bachelor of Music in Music Education degree from the University of Puget Sound and received an honorary fellowship to then complete his Master of Arts in Teaching degree as a conducting student of Dr. Robert Taylor.

Rickey was born on the island of Oʻahu, Hawaiʻi, and travels home to visit family and body surf the waves as often as possible. When not traversing the globe making music, he resides in Pasadena, CA. You can find him on quiet evenings at home creating delicious meals in his collection of cast iron cookware.

James M. David (b. 1978) is an American composer and professor of music theory and composition at Colorado State University. He is particularly known for his works involving winds and percussion. His works have been performed and recorded by many prominent ensembles including the U.S. Air Force Band, the U.S. Army Band “Pershing’s Own”, the U.S. Navy Band, the Des Moines Symphony Orchestra, the Showa Wind Symphony (Japan), the Osaka Shion Wind Orchestra, and the North Texas Wind Symphony.  His music has been performed at more than sixty national and international conferences including the Midwest Clinic, the College Band Directors National Association Biennial Conference, the American Bandmasters Association Convention, and the World Association for Symphonic Bands and Ensembles Conference. Dr. David was the winner of the 2022 William D. Revelli Composition Contest, three-time finalist for the Sousa-ABA Ostwald Award, winner of an ASCAP Morton Gould Award, and won national contests sponsored by the Music Teachers National Association and the National Association of Composers (USA). Commissions include projects for the National Band Association, the Atlantic Coast Conference Band Directors Association, Joseph Alessi (New York Philharmonic), John Bruce Yeh (Chicago Symphony), James Markey (Boston Symphony), and hundreds of university faculty and ensembles. His works are represented on over twenty commercially released recordings on the Naxos, Summit, Mark, Albany, Parma, MSR Classics, Bravo Music, GIA Windworks, and Luminescence labels and are published by Murphy Music Press, C. Alan Publications, Potenza Publishing, and Excelsia Music.

As a native of southern Georgia, Dr. David began his musical training under his father Joe A. David, III, a renowned high school band director and professor of music education in the region.  This lineage can be heard in his music through the strong influence of jazz and other Southern traditional music mixed with contemporary idioms.  Dr. David received degrees in music education and music composition from the University of Georgia and the Florida State University College of Music. He studied composition with Guggenheim recipient Ladislav Kubik, Pulitzer recipient Ellen Taaffe Zwilich, Lewis Nielson, and Clifton Callender as well as jazz composition and arranging with Sammy Nestico. More information at www.jamesmdavid.com.

Chadwick Kamei is the Director of Bands,Fine Arts Department Head, and Music Learning Center Coordinator at Pearl City High School in Pearl City, Hawaii. He is also the director of the Nāulu Winds of the University of Hawaiʻi West Oʻahu, which is a community-based ensemble. Under his direction, the Nāulu Winds performed at the 2024 Midwest Band and Orchestra Clinic and was the first community band from Hawaiʻi to ever play at this prestigious event. Dr. Kamei earned his Doctor of Musical Arts from Boston University and received both his Bachelor’s and Master’s in Music Education from the University of Hawaii at Manoa. Dr. Kamei is a Conn Selmer Educational Clinician and has adjudicated and guest conducted at numerous festivals around the US. He is currently a member of the Revelli Composition Committee and IDEA committee for the National Band Association. He holds memberships in the American School Band Directors Association, National Band Association, and the Oahu Band Directors Association. Dr. Kamei is a Legion Laureate of the John Philip SousaLegion of Honor and in 2016 was elected to membership in the prestigious American Bandmasters Association, considered to be one of the highest honors given in the wind band profession.