Currently the Director of Music and the Arts Department Chair at Oakwood Friends School and an Instructor at SUNY? Dutchess, Edward “Ted” Messerschmidt has also taught in public schools and at Marist University, where he served as the Orchestra Director and the Associate Director of Bands.>/p>

His original compositions have been performed in the U.S., South America, and Europe at venues including The Stone in New York City and the Leipzig Gewandhaus. His work has been recognized in several composition festivals and competitions, including the American Prize and the International Composers Festival in the UK.

As a performer, Messerschmidt has subbed with professional ensembles and appeared as a trombonist in the HBO series The Gilded Age.? His primary research interest is music education in prisons, a topic he explored in his doctoral dissertation and in presentations at international conferences. He has taught or participated in composition and performance workshops and outreach programs in several prisons. Ted lives in Poughkeepsie, New York with his wife and two sons.

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