After 57 years of teaching — spanning stops at Wisconsin, Northern Colorado, Michigan State, and Cincinnati before landing at the University of North Texas — Eugene Migliaro Corporon is stepping away from the podium. In that time he has shaped not just a program but an entire generation of conductors, educators, and musicians who carry his influence into rehearsal rooms and concert halls around the world.
In this episode, we sit down with Corporon for a wide-ranging conversation that is equal parts master class and memoir. He reflects on what retirement actually feels like when music has been your life since junior high school, shares hard-won wisdom on the craft of rehearsing, makes the case for repertoire as the lifeblood of any ensemble, and offers a clear-eyed challenge to the next generation of band directors: don't let the urgency of the field eclipse your artistic self.
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Eugene Migliaro Corporon
Regents Professor of Music · University of North Texas
Eugene Migliaro Corporon is one of the most decorated and widely respected figures in the wind band world. A Regents Professor of Music at the University of North Texas, he has served as Coordinator of Wind Studies and Conductor of the Wind Symphony there for decades, building UNT's program into a globally recognized model for wind band excellence. Before coming to Denton, he held positions at the University of Wisconsin, the University of Northern Colorado, Michigan State University, and the University of Cincinnati. Over a career spanning 57 years of teaching, Corporon has championed new music for winds with uncommon dedication — commissioning works, collaborating closely with living composers, and insisting that the wind band's future lies in original repertoire rather than transcription. He is the author of Explorations, Discoveries, Inventions and Designs in the Nowhere, published as part of the Teaching Music Through Performance in Band series, and has conducted at major venues and conferences including Midwest, TMEA, and CBDNA. His students occupy positions in universities, conservatories, and professional ensembles throughout the world.
EPISODE TIMESTAMPS
0:00
Introduction — Corporon's career at UNT and opening reflections on retirement
1:22
Most vivid memories: students, composers, and the passing of Robert Reynolds
3:54
What he hopes former students carry forward — individuality, repertoire, and spontaneity
5:32
Building the UNT wind band program — modeling after jazz studies, outreach, and team culture
9:24
The art of rehearsal — from "stop at every mistake" to exploration, improvisation, and clarity
27:01
Non-negotiables in ensemble teaching — repertoire, advocacy, and live streaming as outreach
35:05
Defining leadership — preparation, belief, and treating composers as collaborators
40:22
Advice for the next generation — balance concert and marching, develop broadly, stay humble
48:45
One guiding principle — humanity in the rehearsal room, making students thirsty
57:26
Soapbox: value teachers as fully professional people
1:00:40
Recommended books and the Evelyn Glennie story
1:05:08
Favorite time signature — and why free time wins
1:06:50
Closing thoughts: taking credit for the work of your ensemble
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