DR. DOMINIC TALANCA

Conductor, Wilmington Symphony Pops Orchestra

Dominic Talanca will begin his role as Director of Bands at the University of Central Arkansas this fall. From 2017–25, he was the Artistic Director/Conductor of the Wilmington Symphonic Winds and Associate Professor of Music/Director of Bands at the University of North Carolina Wilmington. At UCA, Dr. Talanca will conduct the Wind Ensemble, teach undergraduate and graduate courses in conducting, and administer all aspects of the band program. In addition to his responsibilities with the Wilmington Symphony Pops Orchestra, Talanca has enjoyed engagements in Wilmington as conductor of Southern Harmonie, the OLLI New Horizons Band, and productions with Opera House Theatre Company and Wilmington Voices.

Talanca received the Bachelor of Music Education and Master of Music in Wind Conducting degrees from the University of North Texas, where he studied conducting with Eugene Migliaro Corporon. He received his Doctor of Musical Arts in Wind Conducting degree at Northwestern University, where he studied with Mallory Thompson.

Dr. Talanca taught for ten years in the Lewisville Independent School District in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex and served as the Associate Director of Bands at Marcus High School in Flower Mound, Texas from 2006-2013, during which time the student musicians were recognized for their performances in concert and marching activities - earning numerous placements in the All-Region and All-State ensembles as well as 4 consecutive biannual Texas 5A State Marching Championship Awards.

Talanca co-authored a beginning band method, Musical Mastery, published by MRNS Music. The text is used in 150+ school districts (over 400 schools) in Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Mississippi, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Wisconsin, and internationally (e.g., Japan and Oman) – impacting an estimated 100,000+ students to date. Several universities have also adopted the book as the primary text for their instrumental methods classes.

Additionally, Dr. Talanca has contributed three chapters to GIA Publication's Teaching Music Through Performance in Band series in addition to published journal articles for the music education journals in North Carolina, Utah, Arkansas, and an article in the WASBE Journal. He has presented multiple times at The Midwest Clinic International Band and Orchestra Conference in Chicago and numerous other music education conferences in North Carolina, Texas, and Utah.

Talanca has recorded over 450 significant works in the wind band repertoire on the Mark Custom, Klavier, Naxos, and GIA recording labels. Dr. Talanca is an active conductor, clinician, and adjudicator. In recent years, he has been invited to guest conduct ensembles throughout North Carolina, across the US, and in Costa Rica and Germany. Following the Fourth of July Celebration with the WSO Pops Orchestra, Dominic Talanca is thrilled to prepare for the JAWS in Concert performances on July 12 followed by a two-week engagement at the Boston University Tanglewood Institute with the Young Artists Wind Ensemble.

Education
D.M.A., Wind Conducting, 
Northwestern University, 
Evanston, IL

M.M., Wind Conducting,
The University of North Texas,
Denton, TX

B.M., Music Education, 
The University of North Texas,
Denton, TX