Dr. Grant Linsell is the Dean of Fine Arts at Fullerton College in Fullerton, California and is a sought-after conductor, clinician, and clarinetist. Prior to his current appointment, he was the Dean of Arts and Cultural Programs at Río Hondo College in Los Angeles County. He has served as the Director of Instrumental Activities at Mt. Hood Community College in Gresham, OR and has held similar appointments at Willamette University in Salem, OR, Minot State University in Minot, ND, and Lansing Eastern High School in Lansing, MI. He works with many ensembles – from middle school to professional – across the United States and Canada.
Musician
Conductor
Educator
He also researches, writes, and presents internationally on music and music education. His main interests are electroacoustic clarinet composing/performing, the music and life of Igor Stravinsky, curriculum development, and conducting pedagogy, but he also gives informal lectures on the neuroscience of music.
A native of Detroit, MI, Dr. Linsell attended the University of Michigan and received his Bachelor’s degree in Music Education and Clarinet Performance. There, he studied clarinet with Deborah Chodacki and Fred Ormand and played in H. Robert Reynolds’ Symphonic Band and the Michigan Marching Band. He holds a Master’s degree in Instrumental Conducting from the University of Oregon (where he studied with Bob Ponto) and a Doctorate in Wind Ensemble Conducting from Arizona State University (where he studied with Gary W. Hill).
At ASU, he was a research fellow at the Intelligent Stage Motion Capture Facility in the Arts, Media, and Engineering Program where he worked on computer-aided conductor motion analysis and on developing a conductor driven and musically responsive computer system – the only such system in the world.
