Meet the Meridian Community Band Conductor

Michael Scholes, Conductor/Music Director

Michael Scholes is the Conductor of the Meridian Community Band and currently serves as Director of Bands at St. Johns Middle School, a position he has held since 2004. Prior to teaching in St. Johns, Mr. Scholes was Band Director for the Merrill (MI) Community Schools (2000-2004). Additionally, he has worked with marching bands from Michigan State University and Albion College. He holds both a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Music Education from Michigan State University, where his primary conducting mentor was John Madden. Mike is in high demand as a trumpet player and has performed with the Lansing Concert Band, the Capitol City Brass Band, and Mason Symphony Orchestra, as well as at several local churches and for school and civic pit orchestras. He is a member of Bugles Across America, an organization that provides volunteer live buglers for funerals of United States Military Veterans. Michael currently serves on the board for the Capital Area Down Syndrome Association and resides in Lansing with his wife, Jen, and their three children, Anna, Ella, and Kyle.

Carolyn Moravitz Sherrill, Conductor Emeritus

Carolyn Moravitz Sherrill began her affiliation with the Meridian Community Band (MCB) as a clarinetist before becoming its conductor and music director in 1990. She is a native of Ely, Minnesota, and attended Michigan State University from which she earned both Bachelor of Music and Master of Music degrees. In July 2016 Carolyn stepped down as the MCB conductor after having served for twenty-six years in that position. She continues in her role as the Red Cedar Festival Project Director, a position she has held since 1996. Due to her emphasis on continuing education, the band significantly expanded its repertoire to include a wide variety of contemporary, popular, and classical band literature.

Active as a clarinetist, Carolyn performs with the Clarinet Connexions, Grenadilla Quartet, the MSU Alumni Touring Band, and Keith Brion’s New Sousa Band. Among her awards are Kappa Kappa Psi’s Silver Baton Award and the YWCA’s 1999 Diana Award. Professionally, Carolyn taught elementary and middle school band at Lansing’s St. Gerard School for thirty-seven years before her retirement in 2018.

Among her achievements are helping to establish both the Grand Sousa Concert as the MCB’s traditional season opener and the annual Red Cedar Festival of Community Bands, which attracts adult bands from across the state of Michigan.