Professor Robert M. Carnochan, Chair of Instrumental Performance, Director of Bands, and Music Director/Conductor of the Frost Wind Ensemble, has been honored with the 2024 Phillip Frost Award for Excellence in Teaching and Scholarship, the Frost School of Music’s most prestigious award.
A lifelong music teacher and conductor from a family of educators, Carnochan was selected by a committee of his peers as an outstanding faculty member and leader who is profoundly dedicated to the art of music-making and to music education.
“Knowing that my colleagues are the source of the Frost Award makes this one of my highest honors to date,” said Carnochan. “Helping students find their voice and way through life has been and remains my mission. I dedicate this award to the thousands of students I’ve had the honor of working with, from my first days as a high school band director to the current academic year here at the Frost School of Music.”
Before joining the Frost School in 2015, Carnochan spent 13 years as a Professor of Music and Director of the Longhorn Band at the University of Texas at Austin. He has also held similar positions at the University of Colorado at Boulder, Northeastern Oklahoma State University, and Stephen F. Austin State University in Texas. He is proud to have begun his career as Director of Bands at Dundalk High School in Baltimore, Maryland.
Carnochan has produced several acclaimed recordings and has been praised for his musical leadership by composers, including Andy Akiho, Mason Bates, Valerie Coleman, John Corigliano, Gunther Schuller, Omar Thomas, and Frost School doctoral student Kevin Day. He is an active guest conductor, clinician, and adjudicator throughout the United States and has conducted concerts in Europe and Asia.
Carnochan holds a bachelor’s degree in music education from Towson University, a master’s degree in wind conducting from the University of Colorado, and a doctorate in wind conducting from The University of Texas at Austin. He is the recipient of numerous service and teaching awards, including The Eyes of Texas Award, the DeCloux Fellowship, and the Marinus Smith Award.
