John Miliauskas

Biography

John J. Miliauskas III has a lifetime of experiences in instrumental music and marching activities. His father was the band director at Lake-Lehman High School for 36 years. After graduating from Lake-Lehman himself in 1981, Miliauskas played mellophone in the Penn State Blue Band in 1981 and 1982, as well as in the Garfield Cadets Drum and Bugle Corps in 1982 and 1983. He continued his marching experiences at West Chester University from 1984-1987, where he was drum major for three years,. He also was drum major for the Reading Buccaneers Drum and Bugle Corps in 1986.

Following his marching experiences, Miliauskas moved on to gain many accomplishments as a drill designer. He started with his father at Lake-Lehman High School, where he was a member of the instructional staff from 1982-1988, performing various duties including marching and music instruction, programming, drill design, and fulfilling the role of assistant director. During these years, the band earned numerous Pennsylvania State and Atlantic Coast Championship titles.

Over the past 25 years, Miliauskas has written drill for dozens of competitively successful high school marching bands and indoor ensembles ranging in size from 20 total members to more than 250 total members. These drills have varied from basic and intermediate to advanced level programs that have won many championships including TOB, USSBA, BOA, TIA, and WGI circuits.

Some of the more notable programs for which he has designed drill beyond the high school level include the 1992 and 1993 Crossmen Drum and Bugle Corps, the West Chester University Golden Rams Marching Band from 1984-1987 and 2000-2006, the 1988 and 1989 Reading Buccaneers Senior Drum and Bugle Corps, the 1991 Magic of Orlando Drum and Bugle Corps, the 1987 and 1988 Threshold Indoor Color Guards (West Chester, PA), the 2001-2003 Govenaires Senior Drum and Bugle Corps, the 2002 Penn State Eclipse Indoor Color Guard, and the 2002-2005 Bpex Winter Guards. Crossmen were Drum Corps International World Finalists during both seasons that Miliauskas wrote, and in 1992 the corps placed sixth in DCI Championship Finals, earning their highest finish ever to that point. In 2006, drum corps fans voted the 1992 Crossmen as one of the “Top 12 Drum Corps Performances of All Time”. As a result, the show was included in the DCI Classic Countdown, which was shown in 150 movie theaters nationwide. Miliauskas returned to the Crossmen as Program Coordinator in 2006.

Miliauskas was the Director of Bands at Crossroads Middle School in the West Shore School District from its opening in 1993 until 2002. During his tenure, the Crossroads Band Program commissioned Robert W. Smith to compose At The Crossroads, A Dedicatory Fanfare, which was published through Belwin Publications and is widely performed. From 1994-2000, the Crossroads Bands received consistent superior ratings at Pennsylvania Music Educators Association Concert Band Adjudication Festivals. This culminated with a performance at the PMEA State Conference in April of 2001 by the Crossroads Wind Ensemble. In addition to this honor, the Crossroads Bands have performed with guest soloists including Brian Bowman on euphonium from the University of North Texas, Matt Niess on trombone from the Army Blues Jazz Ensemble and Capitol Bones of Washington, DC, and Seneca Black on trumpet from the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra of New York, NY.

Miliauskas is currently the Associate Director of Bands and Director of the Tiger Marching Band at Towson University. He also directs the Pep Band and Concert Band. In addition to his work at Towson, he has taught various design and instructional summer clinics for band directors, drum majors, and marching band members through Vivace Productions, United Music Enterprises, the George Parks Drum Major Academy, and the Caribbean island of Jamaica’s Cultural Development Commission.

Recently, the Tiger Marching Band – which has grown from approximately 80 to 225 members since Miliauskas took the position in 2004 – appeared in the 2009 Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City. Although this was Towson’s first appearance in the parade, it was Miliauskas' third experience, as he previously led the West Chester University Marching Band as drum major in the 1986 parade, as well as the Red Land High School Marching Band as program coordinator in the 1998 parade. In 1999, he was featured on the Discovery Channel special “On the Inside: The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.” This documentary, which aired on various Discovery Channel networks throughout 1999 and 2000, partially focused on Red Land’s preparation and experience participating in the 1998 parade.

A brother of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia and an honorary member of both Kappa Kappa Psi and Tau Beta Sigma, Miliauskas completed his Masters of Music in Music Education with a performance option in conducting at West Chester University in May 2004. He is a member of The National Association for Music Education and the College Band Directors National Association.