Erin Cole Steele

Erin Cole has had a very successful career as a middle school band director for the past 22 years. She served as the band director at Tapp Middle School in Cobb County, Georgia from 1995-2017. Under her leadership, the Tapp Band honors included being selected to perform at the 58th annual Midwest Band and Orchestra Clinic in Chicago, Illinois in December of 2004. The band has been a featured performing group at the University of Georgia Middle School Band Festival in 2015, 2008, 2003, and 1999. Additionally, the Flute and Percussion Ensemble have performed at the Georgia Music Educators Conference in Savannah, Georgia. The Tapp Band was also selected for the National Adjudicators Invitational Dixie Classic Festival in 2006 where they received all superior ratings. The Tapp Band continually receives superior ratings each year at the District 12 large group performance evaluation.

Ms. Cole has commissioned four pieces of music for the Tapp Band in the past 12 years. In 1999, Robert W. Smith wrote "The Great Locomotive Chase", in 2002, Frank Ticheli wrote "Simple Gifts - Four Shaker Songs". and in 2004, Samuel R. Hazo composed “Ascend” for the Tapp M.S. Symphonic Band’s performance at The Midwest Clinic. Most recently, Ms. Cole and the Tapp Middle School Band was part of a consortium of directors to commission the Eric Whitacre piece “The Seal Lullaby”.

Erin Cole earned her bachelor's degree in music education from the University of Georgia in 1995. While at the University of Georgia, she played the cello, flute, and piccolo in the University Symphony Orchestra, chamber groups, Symphonic, and Concert Bands, and the Redcoat Marching Band. She has studied cello with Christopher Rex, David Starkweather, and Alice Williams and has studied flute with Ronald Waln and Martha Lynn Volman.

Ms. Cole's professional affiliations include Phi Beta Mu, Sigma Alpha Iota, National Band Association, and the Georgia Music Educators Association.

Erin has written articles for The Instrumentalist magazine and has been a contributing editor for the publication. She has also served as a clinician for the Music for All Summer Symposium and is currently on the teaching faculty at The Conn Selmer Institute. She has presented several sessions at the Midwest Clinic and many state conventions. In 2007, 2010, and 2014 Erin has written chapters for the popular GIA publication series Teaching Music Through Performance. Ms. Cole is also currently a contributing editor for Hal Leonard’s Essential Elements method book and interactive website team.

Ms. Cole now works as an educational clinician and consultant for Conn-Selmer and the Hal Leonard Corporation. She has been a guest conductor for numerous honor and all-state bands, has taught several years at the "Encore" Music Camp and was the founder and administrator of the Cobb County Summer Band Camp. She was awarded the National Band Association’s Citation of Excellence in 2015, 2008 and 2003. She was the middle school band conductor for the Conn-Selmer Youth Band of Atlanta from 2011- 2017. Erin currently resides in Scottsdale, Arizona with her husband.