Ceon D. Rumphs

Ceon Rumphs is a candidate for the Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Wind Conducting at Michigan State University where his principal instructor is  Dr. Kevin L. Sedatole. Ceon also holds the Master of Music degree in Wind Conducting and the Bachelor of Music Education degree from Baylor University in Waco, Texas where he was a conducting student of Dr. Eric Wilson and was a Distinguished Graduate of the Baylor Honors Program.

 

At Michigan State, Ceon is active in all aspects of the band program and guest-conducts the Wind Symphony, Symphony Band, Concert Band, and the Musique 21 Contemporary Music Ensemble. He serves as a graduate assistant for the Spartan Marching Band, Spartan Brass, Campus Band, and was an assistant conductor for the Spartan Youth Wind Symphony. Recently, Ceon designed and instructed marching drill for the premiere of the 2023 Spartan Marching Band. Additionally, Ceon arranges pep tunes for Spartan Brass.

 

Prior to graduate study, Ceon was the Assistant Director of Bands at Benbrook Middle-High School in Fort Worth, Texas. He directed all aspects of the Middle School Band Program and assisted with all aspects of the High School Band Program. The Benbrook Bands have received multiple Superior ratings at contest, and, under his assistance, the Marching Band appeared at multiple finals competitions at various 4A High School Marching Band Contests in the metroplex for the first time in the band’s history.

 

Ceon actively attends conducting symposia and professional development opportunities around the country and has studied with such distinguished conducting pedagogues as H. Robert Reynolds, Jerry Junkin, and Mallory Thompson. Recently, Ceon was a conducting fellow at the 2022 Reynolds Conducting Institute hosted by the Midwest Band and Orchestra Clinic. And notably, Ceon was one of three conductors selected to participate in the 2022 Young Conductor and Composer Mentor Project, where he conducted the world premiere of Henry Dickson’s Witching Hour with The United States Air Force Band in Washington D.C. Ceon continues to find opportunities to perform and study saxophone privately. Beyond his studies in music, Ceon loves to spend quality time with family and friends, enjoys traveling, and is an avid “car geek.”