John Alan Carnahan is Director of Bands and Professor of Conducting at the Bob Cole Conservatory of Music at California State University, Long Beach. His teaching responsibilities include conductor of the University Wind Symphony and Professor of Graduate Conducting. Prior to his appointment at Long Beach, Mr. Carnahan served as Assistant Director of Bands at the University of Texas, and as Director of Bands at Clovis High School in Clovis, California.

Representing a “new generation” of wind band conductors, Professor Carnahan brings a broad knowledge and extensive background to all idioms of instrumental music performance. His university ensembles have gained widespread notoriety for distinctive performance quality and imaginative musical interpretation. The Los Angeles Times hailed the University Wind Symphony as, “…thoroughly disciplined and euphonious!” His ensembles have been honored with invitations to perform at numerous regional, national, and international music conferences and festivals, including: the Music Educators National Conference (MENC) Biennial National Conference, the College Band Directors National Association (CBDNA) Regional and National Conferences, the American Bandmasters Association (ABA) National Conference, the Texas Music Educators Association (TMEA) State Conference, and as the featured university ensemble at the Korean International Wind Band Festival in Seoul, Korea. A champion of new music, Professor Carnahan has been a member of numerous national commissioning projects and has premiered more than twenty new works over the past several years.