Keith Dodson

Keith Dodson is currently an Assistant Professor of Music and Director of Instrumental Studies at Bethany College in Lindsborg, Kansas. He is also the Music Director and Conductor of the Chamber Orchestra of the Smoky Valley, a fully professional orchestra based in Lindsborg, Kansas. Dr. Dodson completed the PhD in Music Education with an emphasis in Orchestral Conducting at the Florida State University College of Music. He also completed the Specialized Study in Music Theory Pedagogy program. As an educator, he held secondary instrumental positions at Space Coast Junior/Senior High School and Matanzas High School. He has had the opportunity to present at the Florida Music Educators Conference on “Introducing and Utilizing Singing in the Instrumental Classroom” with Ian Schwindt, and “Passion as a Path to Excellence: Teaching Strategies that Last” with Dr. Alexander Jiménez. In addition to his responsibilities in Lindsborg, Dr. Dodson is on the orchestral conducting faculty at the Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp in Michigan. 

As a conductor, Dr. Dodson was selected to participate as a fellow at The Conductor's Institute in South Carolina under the direction of Dr. Donald Portnoy. He was also selected as a Conducting Participant in the College Orchestra Directors Association's Conducting Masterclass with Bruce Hangen in Boston, Massachusetts. In the Fall of 2021, he was a finalist for the American Prize in Collegiate Orchestral Conducting with his recording of Beethoven Symphony no. 7 with the Florida State University Symphony Orchestra. His conducting teachers include Michael J. Garasi, Joseph Kreines, and Alexander Jiménez. An enthusiastic string pedagogue, Dr. Dodson was a private student of violinist Dr. Benjamin Sung. 

As a proponent of new music, he has conducted works by Michael Gordon, Victoria Bond, James Primosch, Richard Maltz, Avner Dorman, Ash Stemke, Aaron Houston, Brian Junttila, and Eunseon Yu.

Dr. Dodson earned Bachelor's Degrees in Music Performance and Music Education from the University of Central Florida, Orlando. He earned a Masters in Music Education from Florida State University.

Dr. Dodson is an active member of NAfME, KMEA, KASTA, the College Orchestra Directors Association (CODA), and Pi Kappa Lambda