Alan W. Mills

Dr. Alan W. Mills is the Conductor of Wind Bands and Coordinator within the School of Music & Theatre Professions at Loyola University New Orleans, where he oversees the artistic, academic, and administrative needs of the Winds, Brass and Percussion programs. He is also responsible for teaching undergraduate and graduate courses in Conducting and Music Education.

Prior to joining the faculty at Loyola University New Orleans, he served as Director of Bands at Colorado State University Pueblo, where his efforts brought national and international recognition to both the concert band and marching band programs. During his tenure, Dr. Mills founded the ThunderWolves Marching Band, the annual Festival of Winds, which he grew to become the largest annual high school honor band in the state of Colorado, and the Rocky Mountain Commissioning Project, which annually produced new works for band. Additional academic appointments include Associate Director of Bands at East Texas A&M University, where he conducted the Symphonic Band, directed the Pride Marching Band, and taught classes in conducting, music education, and jazz history. Dr. Mills has also served the profession as a public school teacher.

In addition to his regular appearances as a guest conductor and clinician across the United States, Dr. Mills has also appeared as a guest conductor with the United States Air Force Academy Concert Band and the United States Army 4th Infantry Division Band. 

Outside the United States, Dr. Mills has appeared as a guest conductor with the Czech National Concert Band, and he has been making regular visits to Asia for more than twenty years. During the 2016-17 Academic year, he served a one-year residency in the Culture and Art Education Center of the University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, located in Chengdu, where he conducted the symphony orchestra. He has also made regular visits to Singapore, Thailand, and Taiwan, where he has served as an adjudicator, clinician, and conductor, most notably with the Singapore Philharmonic Winds and Kasetsart University Band in Thailand. His work in mainland China includes more than 200 rehearsal clinics and conducting master classes. In addition to his university performance schedule, he has conducted concerts at the Grand Theater in Bau Tou, the Forbidden City Concert Hall, and the Beijing Concert Hall, where he has appeared as a guest conductor with the Beijing Wind Orchestra. In 2025, he was named Distinguished Visiting Professor of Music at Sias University, located near Zhengzhou, China, where he conducts both the Wind Orchestra and Symphony Orchestra.

Dr. Mills has presented research lectures at multiple state and national music conferences. His scholarly writings can be found in the Journal of Band Research and in multiple editions of the popular textbook series Teaching Music Through Performance In Band. He is a member of the College Band Directors National Association where he serves on the Small Program Committee and recently chaired the National Intercollegiate Band, and the World Association for Symphonic Bands and Ensembles where he serves on the Events Committee.