Jay N. Jacobs received his Bachelor of Music degree from West Virginia University. He received his Master of Music in wind conducting and the Doctor of Philosophy in music education degree from the University of Florida. Serving as a graduate and doctoral conducting associate at the University of Florida, he directed the basketball band through the 2006 NCAA Final Four and National Championship games, served the Gator Marching Band as a drill writer and staff member, conducted the UF Concert Bands, guest conducted the wind symphony and symphonic bands, and taught courses in music education. His conducting experiences have included performances in England, Scotland, and Singapore. Dr. Jacobs taught initially at Hiawatha High School in Kirkland, Illinois and is a former marching member and former brass staff instructor with the Cavaliers Drum and Bugle Corps from Rosemont, Illinois. He is currently the Conductor of University Bands at McNeese State University in Lake Charles, Louisiana where he conducts the wind symphony and symphonic band. He is also the director of the “Pride of McNeese” marching band and the basketball band. Dr. Jacobs is an active drill writer and festival clinician in the Southeastern United States, a member of the Music Educators National Conference, College Band Directors National Association, College Music Society, and an honorary member of Tau Beta Sigma and Kappa Kappa Psi.

Lonny Benoit is Assistant Professor of Music and Coordinator of Percussion Studies at McNeese State University in Lake Charles, Louisiana where he teaches all courses in percussion performance. Benoit is also the director of the McNeese Percussion Ensemble, the McNeese Ragtime Pokes, and the Pride of McNeese Drumline.

Benoit is currently the Front Ensemble Caption Manager of the Santa Clara Vanguard Drum and Bugle Corps from Santa Clara, CA. He is the former Percussion Caption Head of the Phantom Regiment Drum and Bugle Corps from Rockford, Illinois. Prior to working with Phantom Regiment, Benoit was a staff member for the Blue Knights Drum and Bugle Corps (Denver, CO) and is a former member of the Cavaliers Drum and Bugle Corps (Rosemont, IL).

As a performer, Benoit is a member of PASTICHE, the artist in residence chamber ensemble at McNeese State University. Actively involved in expanding the repertoire through their transcriptions and commissioning of new works, PASTICHE exhibits fascinating and creative interplay between its members. The recipient of many performance and commissioning endowments, PASTICHE has collaborated in several multi-media events, and records with INNOVA and Centaur records. Benoit has appeared with the Lake Charles Symphony, the Las Vegas Philharmonic, the Rapides Symphony, the Acadiana Wind Ensemble, and TAD Wind Symphony from Tokyo, Japan. He currently holds the Terrance Mahady Chair for principal timpanist with the Lake Charles Symphony. Benoit regularly presents clinics and master classes throughout the United States and abroad and has been a featured clinician at several PAS State Days of Percussion.

An active member of the Percussive Arts Society, Benoit is currently a member of the Scholarly Research Committee and Vice President of the Louisiana Chapter. He is a former Vice President of the Nevada Chapter

Lonny Benoit received his Master of Music and Bachelor of Music degrees from the University of Nevada-Las Vegas under the tutelage of Dr. Dean Gronemeier. He is currently completing DMA studies at UNLV. Benoit is proud to be an artist/clinician for Pearl Drums, Adams Musical Instruments, Vic Firth Inc., Zildjian cymbals, and Evans drumheads.

Rick Condit has been an active saxophonist and jazz educator for more than 25 years. He has taught and performed in 26 countries on 5 continents.

In 2002, he spent six months as a Fulbright Senior Scholar at the “George Enescu University of the Arts” in Romania while on leave from his post as Director of Jazz Studies and Associate Professor of Saxophone at McNeese State University in Lake Charles, La. Since then he has returned to Romania four times for concerts, clinics and other Fulbright related projects.

Originally from the San Francisco Bay Area, Condit spent more than 10 years there as a freelance professional, performing with such noted artists as Ella Fitzgerald, Louie Bellson, Ray Brown, Oliver Nelson, Bob Hope, and the San Francisco Symphony Pops Orchestra. During this period he also toured for over a year as tenor sax soloist with the Stan Kenton Orchestra, presenting concerts and clinics in 46 states, Canada, and Japan.

Condit received his Master of Music degree in jazz studies from the University of North Texas, where he was a graduate teaching fellow and member of the One O’Clock Lab Band. His own group, the Louisiana Jazz 5, has toured France and Central America and performed at the IAJE Conference. Condit and guitarist Tom Wolfe toured 5 countries in West Africa as Kennedy Center Jazz Ambassadors, and he has been the recipient of a Louisiana Artist’s Fellowship.

Under Condit’s direction, the McNeese Jazz Ensemble has performed at the Montreux Jazz Festival (Switzerland), Festival Internationale (Nice, France), the IAJE Conference, and twice in residency at Disney World. He is a Past President of the Louisiana Unit of IAJE, served 10 years as Section Coordinator for Latin America, and as Region Coordinator for the South Central U.S. Recent guest artists have included Bobby Sanabria and Quartetto Ache, The Yosvanny Terry Quartet, The Rosanna Eckert Quartet, the Arturo O’Farrill Quintet, Nneena Freelon, and The Marcus Roberts Trio.

Rick plays Selmer Paris MK VI saxophones and JodyJazz Mouthpieces.

Rick Condit
Associate Professor of Saxophone
Director of Jazz Studies