Dr. Timothy Shade is currently the Director of the School of Music and Director of Bands at Wichita State University in Wichita, Kansas. Previous appointments include Music Director and Principal Conductor of the Alhambra Orchestra (FL), Visiting Director of Orchestras at Florida Atlantic University, and Director of Instrumental Music at Bethel College (KS). He has garnered praise for his exciting programming, engaging personality and “marvelous conducting.” Equally comfortable in the orchestral and wind realms, Shade has worked with The Greater Miami Symphonic Band, The New River Orchestra, The Naples Philharmonic, The Frost Wind Ensemble, The Florida Youth Symphony, The Wichita Wind Ensemble, The Newton Mid-Kansas Symphony Orchestra, and the Delano Chamber Orchestra.
Since Dr. Shade’s arrival at Wichita State, the bands have experienced a resurgence in prominence at the local and national level. The 2021-2022 season includes three world premieres, a performance at the College Band Directors National Association (CBDNA) Southwest Regional Convention, and a recording project from the WSU Wind Ensemble. The 20-21 season included the recording and promotion of four concerts on YouTube during the pandemic.The 2019-2020 season contained the World Premiere of James Syler’s Symphony No. 2 and the US Premiere of Adam Gorb’s Opera The Path to Heaven. The WSU Wind Ensemble was the winner of the 2018-19 American Prize for college band/wind ensemble performance. Shade received 3rd place in the Collegiate Wind Band & Wind Ensemble Conductor Competition for the American Prize in the same year. The 18-19 season contained performances for the Mid-South Horn conference and an innovative collaboration with the WSU Dance Department entitled Dante’s Nightmares and Dreams. This project contained film, dancers, and live wind ensemble performance. The 17-18 season contained performances at the Kansas Music Educators Association In-Service Workshop and the CBDNA Southwest Division Conference. During Shade’s tenure at Bethel College the instrumental music program increased in size and intensity. In February 2012, the Bethel College Wind Ensemble gave its first-ever performance at the Kansas Music Educators Association annual in-service workshop. In that same year he was honored by the Kansas Bandmasters Association with the "Outstanding Young Bandmaster" award for the state of Kansas. Dr. Shade holds a music performance degree in euphonium and jazz trombone from Youngstown (Ohio) State University and did his graduate work as a graduate assistant in the University of Miami’s Frost School of Music, Coral Gables, Fla., where he completed his Masters and Doctoral degrees in euphonium and conducting respectively. He was awarded the “Outstanding Graduate Student” award in 2016.
As a performer, Dr. Shade has played in venues from New York’s Carnegie Hall to the Carnival Cruise Lines’ m.s .Inspiration. An active euphonium soloist, Dr. Shade has given more than 100 performances in recitals and as a guest soloist. He has appeared with the Youngstown State University Wind Ensemble, the Dana All-Star Band, the Dana Chamber Orchestra, the W.D. Packard Band, the University of Miami Symphonic Winds, the Greater Miami Symphonic Band, Newton Mid-Kansas Symphony Orchestra, and the Wichita Wind Ensemble, among others. A proponent for new music, Dr. Shade has premiered several new works and is currently in the process of commissioning more repertoire for the euphonium. In the fall of 2011, Dr. Shade commissioned and premiered PARALLAX by Thomas Sleeper. PARALLAX was recently released on the album "Thomas Sleeper Symphony No. 3" with Shade as the soloist. Also a busy jazz trombonist, Dr. Shade has shared the stage with many well-known performers such as Wessell “Warm Daddy” Anderson, John Clayton, Harold Danko, Joey DeFrancesco, Conrad Herwig, Sean Jones, Darren Kramer, Wynton Marsalis, Jim McNeely, Bernadette Peters, and the Modernaires. Currently, Shade can be found on stage with the NewSpring Kansas Worship Team.
The promotion and creation of new music is a passion of Shade's. He has been involved in over 20 commissions and has worked with composers such as David Maslanka, Andrew Boysen Jr., Steven Bryant, Edward Largent, James Leatherbarrow, Jonathan Newman, Christopher Rouse, Michael Daugherty, Roberto Sierra, Paul Rudy, Steve Danyew, Derek Jenkins, Justin Hall, Robert Tindle, Thomas Sleeper, Paul Dooley, and James Syler. Shade’s recent world premiere performances include La Finta Giardiniera by W.A. Mozart-transcribed by Shade, Orbits by Robert Tindle-transcribed by Shade, and Symphony No. 2 by James Syler. Current projects include a new work for wind ensemble and voice by Justin Hall (Nikoyle Noel), a new work for wind ensemble by Robert Tindle, a world premiere of What We’ve Been Taught to do With Death by Harrison Collins, and a new wind ensemble with film project utilizing Ion Concert Media’s live media sync software, Muséik.