Published on April 1, 2025 by Joelle Youngblood  
Patrick Young

Samford University’s School of the Arts will welcome Patrick E. Young, DMA, to its faculty as director of bands and assistant professor of tuba/euphonium beginning in the fall 2025 academic semester. Young will oversee the university’s athletic bands, conduct the wind ensemble, and lead the tuba and euphonium studio. His appointment brings a wealth of experience in performance, conducting and music education.

Prior to Samford, Young served as director of bands and low brass at Idaho State University and Young Harris College. He is a sought-after clinician and adjudicator for regional and state-level wind bands and has organized events such as the Idaho All-Collegiate Band. Young commissions and premieres works by emerging composers and presents at state and national conferences on topics including Sing Through Your Baton – Expressive Conducting for the Band Director, Conducting Tips: A Performer’s Perspective, SPEAK CLEARLY: Articulation Tips for the Band Director, cNAFME - Preparing for the Job Interview, and Exploring ChatGPT for Music Teachers.

An accomplished performer, Young currently serves as the principal tubist for Opera Colorado and the Taneycomo Festival Orchestra. His solo performances have been featured at International Tuba & Euphonium Conferences, and he has earned two Global Music Awards in the Solo Instrumentalist and Creativity categories for his album Counting Rests. His achievements also include first place in the Rocky Mountain Brass Solo Contest and a two-time semifinalist in the International Leonard Falcone Festival and Competition.

Passionate about chamber music, Young is a member of the Cantare Brass Quintet and has led masterclasses at institutions across the country. He has also performed internationally as a soloist in Russia with the Fortress Brass Quintet while teaching masterclasses, individual lessons, and giving numerous recitals with the ensemble.

Young is a Melton Meinl Weston and B&S Tuba Performing Artist and is a member of the International Tuba Euphonium Association (ITEA), the National Association for Music Education (NAFME), the College Band Directors National Association (CBDNA), and the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP). He earned a Bachelor of Music Education from Young Harris College, a Master of Music Performance in Tuba from the University of Georgia, and a Doctor of Musical Arts in Music Performance and Pedagogy from the University of Colorado-Boulder.

 
Samford is a leading Christian university offering undergraduate programs grounded in the liberal arts with an array of nationally recognized graduate and professional schools. Founded in 1841, Samford is the 87th-oldest institution of higher learning in the United States. Samford enrolls 6,101 students from 45 states, Puerto Rico and 16 countries in its 10 academic schools: arts, arts and sciences, business, divinity, education, health professions, law, nursing, pharmacy and public health. Samford fields 17 athletic teams that compete in the tradition-rich Southern Conference and ranks with the second highest score in the nation for its 98% Graduation Success Rate among all NCAA Division I schools.