Joseph Hermann is Director of Bands Emeritus at Tennessee Technological University in Cookeville, Tennessee, where he served for 28 years. Under his leadership the Tennessee Tech Bands grew to a level of national prominence, over 25 new pieces were premiered, and the wind and percussion program became an influential force for bands in the Southeast.

Before his appointment at Tennessee Tech in 1989, Dr. Hermann was a director at the University of Arizona, Indiana University, and East Tennessee State University. His secondary school teaching includes directing the Dowling High School Band, West Des Moines, Iowa, and supervising the Des Moines Catholic Instrumental Music Program. In addition, he served briefly as the Educational Director for Bands of America and McCormick’s Enterprises, a music corporation, in Chicago, Illinois.

Dr. Hermann is sought after as a conductor, adjudicator, and speaker and has presented clinics, workshops, and has conducted in over thirty states, in Canada, and throughout Japan. His symphonic bands have been featured ensembles at state, regional and national conventions; his interpretations have been broadcast on National Public Radio, and recordings of his ensembles have been issued as reference for music educators nationwide through music publishers and on commercial labels. He is a proponent of new music for the winds, has premiered many works for band and remains an active advocate for commissioning projects.

Dr. Hermann has been a career-long member of CBDNA, NAfME, NBA, the Tennessee Bandmasters Association, has served as the editor for the New Music Reviews for the Tennessee Musician, and is a past board member of the Tennessee Music Educators Association. In 1996, Dr. Hermann was elected to the prestigious American Bandmasters Association and was inducted into the Tennessee Bandmasters Hall of Fame in 2015. Dr. Hermann is affiliated as an Artist/Conductor/Clinician with Jupiter Band Instruments, Inc., manufacturers of band and orchestra instruments located in Mt. Juliet, Tennessee. He has been married to his wife, Kay, for 48 years, and they have two daughters and five grandchildren.