Frederick Speck, Director of Bands and Professor of Music, conducts the Wind Symphony and New Music Ensemble, and teaches conducting and composition. Under his leadership, the Wind Symphony has been invited to perform at KMEA Conferences, CBDNA Southern Division Conferences, the MENC National Conference and the CBDNA National Conference. His music has been performed by such ensembles as the Louisville Orchestra, the Denver Symphony and Speculum Musicae, and recorded by such artists as Richard Stoltzman. Twice the recipient of the University of Louisville President’s Award for Outstanding Scholarship, Research and Creative Activity, his work has also been recognized the through fellowships and commissions from such organizations as the Barlow Endowment, the National Endowment for the Arts, the Indiana Arts Commission, and the Pennsylvania Council for the Arts. He holds the B.M. and M.M. from Bowling Green State University and the D.M.A. from the University of Maryland.
Amy Acklin serves as Associate Director of Bands and Professor of Music at the University of Louisville where she directs the Symphonic Band and teaches courses in conducting and music education. Dr. Acklin recently served as the Director of the UofL Cardinal Marching Band for 12 years, the longest such tenure in the band's history. Previously, Dr. Acklin taught instrumental music in the California public schools, serving as Director of Bands at Rancho Cucamonga High School, Etiwanda Intermediate School and Bolsa Grande High School. Under her direction, the UofL Symphonic Band was invited to perform at the 2016 CBDNA Southern Division Conference in Charleston, South Carolina and the 2015 Kentucky Music Educators Association Professional Conference in Louisville, Kentucky. Both performances represented a first in the history of the UofL Symphonic Band.
Dr. Acklin is an active conductor, clinician, and adjudicator throughout the country. She currently serves as the National Band Association KY State Chair and the Kentucky Music Educators Association College/University Chair and is an active member of the KMEA, having served as the past NAfME Collegiate State Advisor, University & College Band Directors Association President and Intercollegiate Band Coordinator. Dr. Acklin was recently awarded the 2019 KMEA College/University Teacher of the Year Award, the NBA Citation of Excellence and inducted into the Phi Beta Mu International Bandmasters Fraternity and Pi Kappa Lambda National Music Honor Society.
Dr. Acklin has publications in The Journal of Band Research, Update: Applications of Research in Music Education, Florida Music Director, and GIA’s “Teaching Music Through Performance in Band” series and has presented research at the National CBDNA Conference, CBDNA Athletic Band Symposium, MENC: The National Association for Music Education National Conference, as well as other regional and state conferences. She is an active member of KMEA, NAfME, and CBDNA and an honorary member of Kappa Kappa Psi and Tau Beta Sigma. Dr. Acklin holds B.M. and M.M. degrees from the University of Louisville and a Ph.D. in Music Education/Instrumental Conducting from Florida State University where she was privileged to study with mentors Richard Clary, Patrick Dunnigan, Clifford Madsen and Frederick Speck.
Jason Cumberledge is Director of Athletic Bands and Associate Professor of Performance Studies at the University of Louisville, where he directs all aspects of the Cardinal Marching Band and Pep Band programs. His duties also include directing the Concert Band and the teaching of courses in music education, including marching band techniques, graduate and undergraduate conducting, and drill writing. Prior to his arrival in Louisville, he served on the band faculty at the University of Central Florida where his responsibilities included directing the 300-member UCF Marching Knights. Dr. Cumberledge also served as a graduate teaching assistant at Florida State University, where he worked with the university’s athletic and concert bands and taught courses in instrumental music education. He taught for nine years in Worcester County Public Schools, Maryland. Dr. Cumberledge holds a B.S. in Music Education from Indiana University of Pennsylvania, and an M.M.E. and Ph.D. in Music Education and Instrumental Conducting from Florida State University.
In addition to these posts, he currently conducts the Brass Band of Louisville, leading the group to performances at the 79th Midwest Clinic in 2025, the 2018 and 2025 KMEA State Conference and the 2018 Great American Brass Band Festival. He has also served as director of the Kittanning Fireman’s Band, leading them to a Pennsylvania state senior marching band championship in 2002. He currently is President-Elect for the ACC Band Director's Association and Coordinator for KMEA State Solo and Ensemble Festival. He is Past President of the Kentucky Chapter of CBDNA.
Dr. Cumberledge is active as a guest conductor, adjudicator, band clinician, drill writer, and music arranger. His arrangements and transcriptions have been performed at the middle school, high school, and collegiate levels. He has presented research at national, state, and regional conferences, including the NAfME Biennial National Conference, CBDNA National Conference, CBDNA Athletic Band Symposium, and Desert Skies Symposium on Research in Music Education. His published articles have appeared in The Bulletin of the Council for Research in Music Education, Journal of Music Teacher Education, Journal of Band Research, Update: Applications of Research in Music Education, Research Studies in Music Education, Contributions to Music Education, The Instrumentalist, and various other journals. Dr. Cumberledge’s professional affiliations include the College Band Directors National Association, Phi Beta Mu, National Association for Music Education, National Band Association, Kentucky Music Educators Association, and Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia. He is an honorary member of Tau Beta Sigma and Pi Kappa Lambda National Music Honor Society.
Dr. Freeman holds a Bachelor of Science in Music Education from Winston-Salem State University, a Master of Music in Horn Performance from the University of North Carolina School of the Arts, and a Doctor of Philosophy in Music Education from Florida State University. His esteemed professors include Patrick Dunnigan, Rodney Dorsey, David Plack, Chandler Wilson, David Jolley, Verena Mösenbichler-Bryant, Michael Magruder, and Mary Boudreault. Dr. Freeman is a highly experienced educator, clinician, arranger, and adjudicator. Before joining the University of Louisville, he taught theory, concert ensembles, jazz band, traditional marching bands, and corps-style marching bands at high schools in Tennessee and North Carolina.