LaToya A. Webb, Ph.D.

Biography

A native of Richmond, Virginia, Dr. LaToya A. Webb is a visiting assistant professor and interim director of bands. Her duties include leading the wind ensemble and symphonic band and teaching conducting and instrumental music courses. Recently, she served as assistant professor of music and director of the Wilfrid Laurier University Wind Orchestra (Waterloo, Canada).  Dr. Webb has also served as an assistant professor of practice in conducting and assistant director of bands at the University of Texas at Austin, and Instructor of wind conducting at Auburn University and Grambling State University.

Before teaching at the university level, she served as a music director and activities/events coordinator at Somerset Prep Academy in Washington, D.C., and as a band director for Richmond, Virginia public schools. Dr. Webb holds degrees from Norfolk State University, George Mason University and Auburn University. She currently serves as the Tau Beta Sigma National Vice President for Professional Relations, building relationships within the college band teaching profession.

Dr. Webb is an internationally sought-after educator and conductor. She maintains an active performance and clinician schedule as a conductor, adjudicator and lecturer. In 2023, she led professional development sessions for conductors and musicians of the Central Band of the Canadian Armed Forces. Dr. Webb was also sponsored by the Save the Music Foundation as a professional development facilitator for the New York City Department of Education. She has presented research and numerous sessions appearing at state, national, and international conferences and events, such as the NAfME National Conference, the Texas Music Educators Association Convention, the Ontario Music Educators Conference, the College Music Society National Conference, the Midwest Clinic International Band and Orchestra Conference.

She is co-author of “GO ON, Tell Your Story! Voices of Women Band Directors,” a book that features the shared experiences of over 100 women band directors, published by GIA Publications in 2023. Dr. Webb is also an author of many research publications and works found in the Music Educators Journal, The Recorder, and the Teaching Music Magazine. She was honored as a 2017 College Band Directors National Association (CBDNA) Mike Moss Diversity Conducting Fellow, a 2018 CBDNA/National Band Association Masterclass Conducting Fellow, a 2019 U.S. Army Band Conducting Fellow, and a 2019 Midwest Clinic Reynolds Conducting Institute Fellow.

As a passionate advocate for improving educational opportunities through diversity, equity, inclusion and access, she serves on the Composer Project Advisory Board and as the Special Projects Manager for United Sound, Inc. This organization strives to remove barriers and foster social change through music. Dr. Webb is also the co-founder of I See You: Affirming Representation in Music, an organization aimed to affirm Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC) in all fields of music.

Dr. Webb is a member of the National Association for Music Education, the College Band Directors National Association, the Ontario Band Association, the Maryland Music Educators Association and Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. She is also honored with membership in Kappa Kappa Psi, National Honorary Band Fraternity, Inc.

Selected Publications

GO ON: Tell Your Story! Voices of Women Band Directors. GIA Publications, Inc.

Building the bridge you walk on. Teaching Music, 29(4), 44-47.

NIB reflections: An interview with the 2021 conductor and composer. The Podium for Kappa Kappa Psi and Tau Beta Sigma, Spring Issue, 32-33.

The national intercollegiate band. The Podium for Kappa Kappa Psi and Tau Beta Sigma, Fall Issue, 16 – 19.

The importance of knowledge transfer in music education. Teaching Music, 29(2), 38-40.

Encouraging minoritized communities to pursue graduate music degrees. Teaching Music, 29(1), 52-56.

Empowering female conductors. Teaching Music, 28(3), 50-53.