Bradley Mariska to direct AP Music Theory Bootcamp at Shell Lake

The Shell Lake Arts Center is please to announce that Bradley Mariska has been appointed to be the Inaugural Director of the AP Music Theory Bootcamp at the Shell Lake Arts Center during the Summer of 2023 Camp Season.  This is a non-performance based camp aimed at preparing students to be music majors in college.  Whether or not they take the Advanced Placement Exam in Music Theory is inconsequential.  The essential skills needed to succeed as a music major are the same anywhere and on any college campus.  Brad brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise to us and we couldn’t be more excited.  

Bradley Mariska is the Associate Director of Bands at Farmington High School . He conducts the Symphonic Band, Concert Band, Jazz II, Blue Note Jazz, and is the Assistant Director of the Farmington Tiger Marching Band. He has served as the Membership Chair of the Minnesota Band Directors Association and as the President and Band Vice-President of the Minnesota Music Educators Association (MMEA). He and his ensembles have received numerous awards. Under his direction, the Austin HS Wind Ensemble appeared at the MMEA Midwinter Clinic in 2013 and, while at Pine City, was three times named to the list of “Best Communities for Music Education in America.” In 2012, School Band and Orchestra Magazine named Mariska one of the nation’s “50 Directors Who Make a Difference.” Mariska has served as an All-State Band Section Coach, enjoys adjudicating solo/ensemble music contest, and has served as Director on the boards of several community arts organizations.

Mariska earned a bachelor’s degree in Music Education from Buena Vista University and an M.A. in Musicology from the University of Maryland. While at Maryland, Mariska was the Manager of the American Bandmasters Association Archives and Research Center. His work at the Research Center spawned an interest in the history of early American bands and his scholarly paper “Opera Music as Repertoire for Band,” was accepted by the Society for American Music for presentation at their National Convention. His Master’s Thesis, “Who Expects a Miracle To Happen Every Day?: Rediscovering Me and Juliet and Pipe Dream, the Forgotten Musicals of Rodgers and Hammerstein,” is referenced in several scholarly texts, including “The Musical: A Research and Information Guide” (Routledge, 2011).