Tedd Griepentrog has been sharing his passion for music with others for more than 40 years. As performer, educator, clinician, arts administrator, and presenter, he has shared his musical expertise with students, educators, and audiences throughout the United States and abroad. 

 

As a performer, Tedd has done concert tours in all 50 states and 14 countries, premiered 12 new concertos for saxophone, and been featured in numerous television broadcasts and recordings. During his career as saxophone soloist with the U.S. Army Field Band of Washington, DC, he played for every president from Ronald Reagan to George W. Bush. As saxophonist, clarinetist, and flutist, he has performed with the Boston Pops, Cincinnati Pops, Milwaukee Symphony, Detroit Symphony, and Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, and in theatre orchestras for Broadway and opera productions. He has performed with numerous big bands and accompanied jazz greats such as bassist Ray Brown, trombonist Urbie Green, trumpeters Allen Vizzuti and Marvin Stamm, and saxophonist James Moody. He was featured in a cover story in the internationally distributed magazine, The Saxophone Journal. 

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As music educator, Tedd served as Educational Activities Coordinator with the U.S. Army Field Band, where he developed the Field Band’s Legacy CD reference recordings and Instructional Video Series, and coordinated clinics and performances that annually reached more than 100,000 students. During his time in the military, he was awarded the Army Achievement Medal four times for solo performances abroad, the Army Commendation Medal for premiering new saxophone concertos, and the Meritorious Service Medal three times for his educational initiatives. 

 

He was recruited as a Yanagisawa/Leblanc clinician by corporate president Vito Pascucci and presented clinics and master classes at colleges and universities throughout the United States. During his 40 years of teaching saxophone, flute, and clarinet, he has worked with thousands of students, many of whom have gone on to major music schools and are currently teaching the next generation of student musicians. In recognition of his long-term contributions, the National Association for Music Education presented him with the 2003 Outstanding Music Educator Award. In 2020, he was a nominee for Anne Arundel County Teacher of the Year. He has published more than thirty articles in national music magazines. 

 

During his time as a band director, Tedd composed and arranged numerous pieces for young band. Each challenges the players without overwhelming them, keeps all of the percussionists busy, and creates a full symphonic band sound regardless of the size of the ensemble. His creative world music settings have been welcomed by directors across the nation. 

 

Tedd has been a presenter at conferences of the National Association for Music Education, the Network of Visual and Performing Arts Schools, the National Association of Partners in Education, the Maryland Governor’s Conference on Disabilities and Music, the National Association of Secondary School Principals, Created to Praise, and the League of American Orchestras. 

 

He holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Music Education from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and a Master of Arts in Arts Administration from Goucher College. After retiring from the military, he served as Executive Director of the Columbia Orchestra for 13 years and recently retired after 18 years as Band Director at St. Paul’s Lutheran School in Glen Burnie, Maryland.