Hello, Band Friends! If you played an instrument in band in 5th or 6th grade and want to keep playing, join your friends at Medalist Band Camp. Learn more about your instrument from band teachers and college students who love music and love teaching kids.
Each day students will participate in small-group lessons (individual instruments) and whole-band rehearsal. Students will have short breaks between sessions, including a snack period. Students and parents will be provided with practice guidelines and materials they can take home.
If your student will need an instrument to participate in camp, we can help make that happen. Be sure to indicate that need in the registration form (link below).
WHEN: Monday-Tuesday-Wednesday-Thursday, June 22-23-24-25, 2026
WHO: Rising 6th graders (students entering 6th grade in fall 2026) | 9:00 AM to Noon Rising 7th graders (students entering 7th grade in fall 2026) | 12:30 to 3:30 PM
WHERE: Bloomington Center for the Arts (City Hall), 1800 West Old Shakopee Road, Bloomington
Camp leaders: Prof. Jerry Luckhardt, Music Director | Nancy Dostal, Camp Director
Questions? Please email Nancy Dostal, Camp Director: bandcamp@medalistband.com or leave us a voicemail at 952-563-8583.
Registration deadline: Friday, June 12, 2026
Send a kid to camp!
A donation of $50 covers one student’s tuition, or donate an amount of your choosing to cover expenses such as instructional fees, music, and materials. Click on the button (below) to donate online. (Thank you!) Donations of any amount will be appreciated!
MEdalist Band Camp Staff
Jerry Luckhardt | Conductor
Jerry Luckhardt recently retired as Associate Director of Bands at the University of Minnesota School of Music–Twin Cities, where he conducted the Symphonic Band and taught conducting. Luckhardt has appeared as a guest conductor and clinician with ensembles throughout North America, Europe, and Asia. He has earned acclaim from composers such as Michael Colgrass, Shelley Hanson, Libby Larsen, Alex Shapiro, Frank Ticheli, and Judith Lang Zaimont for performances of their works.
Nancy Dostal | Camp Director
Nancy Dostal taught band in Minnesota for over 40 years. She is now retired, after spending most of her career teaching elementary and middle school band in the Rosemount/Apple Valley school district. She has been active in the Minnesota Band Directors Association and the Minnesota Music Educators Association. Nancy was selected as the Minnesota Music Educator of the year in 2017. Nancy plays French Horn in the Medalist Concert Band and also serves on the board of directors for that organization. In her free time, she enjoys volunteering, traveling, hiking, reading, cooking, gardening, and spending time with family at her cabin.
Josh Becker | Low Brass Teacher
Josh Becker teaches fifth-grade band in Rosemount-Apple Valley-Eagan ISD 196 and also manages the district's instrument donation program. He directs the brass choir at Prince of Peace Church in Burnsville and is Instructor of Low Brass at Carleton College. Dr. Becker performs regularly with the Minnesota Orchestra and JazzMN Orchestra. He has degrees in music from the Eastman School of Music, Rice University, and UW-Eau Claire.
Jon Dostal | Percussion Teacher
Jon Dostal is a band director and professional musician located in Apple Valley, MN. For the past ten years, he has taught middle school band at Scott Highlands Middle School in Apple Valley, MN, and prior to that he taught at Twin Cities Academy Charter School in Saint Paul, MN. In addition to teaching in public schools, Jon is an active clinician for honor bands and other music festivals around the state of Minnesota. He has led the mid-level Minnesota Youth Jazz band since 2018, and is an active performer as a percussionist and drummer around the Twin Cities.
Ellen Kniebel | Clarinet Teacher
Ellen Kniebel is a clarinetist and long-time member of the Medalist Concert Band. She was the middle school band director in the Watertown-Mayer school district for 34 years before retiring. In 2004 she was named the Minnesota Music Educator of the Year. As a strong supporter of school music, she has enjoyed working at the Medalist Summer Music band camps since its inception. Teaching, as well as playing clarinet, have been lifelong passions for her.
Tara Michlitsch | Flute Teacher
Tara Michlitsch has been a middle school music educator for 25 years and a member of the Medalist Concert band for 15 years. She enjoys making music and embracing the oddities of funky socks and shoes.
Andy Richter | Trumpet Teacher
Andy Richter teaches band at Edina High School, where he directs two concert ensembles, the marching band, two jazz ensembles, and two pep bands. Richter is actively involved at his church, Wooddale in Eden Prairie, and plays piano in the worship team and trumpet in the Wooddale Orchestra. Andy is a member of NAfME, MMEA, MBDA, and NBA. Under Richter’s direction, the Edina Varsity Band performed at the MMEA Mid-Winter Music Educator’s Convention in 2023. Andy holds a BM in Music Education and an MA in Music Education from the University of Minnesota, where he was honored to serve as the University of Minnesota Marching Band’s fifty-third drum major.
Angela Wyatt | Saxophone Teacher
Angela Wyatt is a founding member of the Ancia Quartet which she has performed with since 1990. She received a Master of Music degree in saxophone performance from Northwestern University, Evanston, IL. Her primary teachers were Frederick Hemke, Ruben Haugen, and Jean-Marie Londeix. She has taught students for over 50 years at many schools in the Twin Cities including Augsburg University, the University of Minnesota and many schools in District 196 (Rosemount- Apple Valley- Eagan).
Upcoming Performances
Join our mailing list
Subscribe to our email newsletter to learn about upcoming concerts.
