Joan deAlbuquerque is the Director of Bands managing all aspects of the band program at Luther College. She conducts the Concert Band and Wind and Percussion Ensemble and teaches Introduction to Conducting and Advanced Conducting. She is very active as a guest conductor and clinician throughout the United States.

The Dorian Band Festival and Dorian Summer Camp give Joan the opportunity to work with musically talented high school students. Luther College hosts approximately 575 students at the Dorian Band Festival and 80 at the Dorian Summer Camp.

Joan moved to Decorah, Iowa in 2011 and bought her first home. While growing up as the youngest of six children, her parents had each child play at least two instruments. Her mother is a church organist and her “biggest fan.” She is very proud of her two nieces in high school who both participate in the band program. Her Christian faith is a large part of her life and she enjoys praying with her students at Luther before concerts.

For fun, Joan enjoys hiking, dancing, skiing, swimming, snorkeling, and playing flute and piano. She is an avid college football fan and enjoys watching Big Ten football on Saturdays in the fall. Her father was born in India so she grew up eating spicy food and loves to put hot sauce on most of my meals.

Joan has been published often in the series Teaching Music Through Performance in Band and looks forward to continuing to write for this important resource for educators.