Dr. Tyler Austin serves as Director of Bands in the F. Ludwig Diehn School of Music at Old Dominion University. He conducts the ODU Wind Ensemble, teaches wind literature and the undergraduate conducting sequence, leads a graduate conducting studio, and administers all aspects of the university’s concert and athletic band programs. Dr. Austin maintains an active guest conducting and lecturing schedule on both the national and international levels.
Dr. Austin works to redefine the role of the 21st-century wind conductor as Founding Artistic Director and Conductor of Newfound Chamber Winds (NFCW), an international ensemble of performer-educators. In 2016, he founded the NFCW Composer Commission Project to fund the composition of original works for chamber winds and to produce professional recordings of these works. He has since commissioned and premiered over 40 works for winds. NFCW hosts annual summer programs for composers, conductors, and performers – these three interwoven summer programs feature pedagogical clinics, performance opportunities, and coaching sessions with internationally-recognized conducting mentors and wind musicians.
In 2024, Dr. Austin was appointed as Resident Conductor with Global Arts United. His work with GAU includes regular work with the Vienna Contemporary Composers Festival in Vienna, Austria, where he conducts the internationally-acclaimed Ensemble PHACE, and with the Sofia Symphonic Summit in Sofia, Bulgaria, where he teaches conducting and conducts the Sofia Philharmonic Orchestra as part of their festival performance series dedicated to newly-composed works. In 2026, he will begin as Resident Conductor at the Veneto Art and Music Summit, where he will teach conducting and conduct performances with the Marco Polo Orchestra in Asolo, Italy.
A lover of community music, Dr. Austin is Music Director & Conductor of the Chesapeake Bay Wind Ensemble. This group is largely composed of music educators, military musicians, and freelance musicians based in the Hampton Roads region. CBWE’s performances include both standards of wind literature and new voices writing for winds.
Dr. Austin completed a D.M.A. in Wind Conducting at Michigan State University under Dr. Kevin Sedatole. He holds an M.M. in Bassoon Performance from the University of North Texas under Professor Kathleen Reynolds, and a B.M. in Music Education from Susquehanna University. He is a member of the College Band Directors National Association (CBDNA), the National Association for Music Education (NAfME), and Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia. He holds honorary memberships from Kappa Kappa Psi and Tau Beta Sigma.