Dr. Justin R. Stolarik

DR. JUSTIN R. STOLARIK  is a freelance arranger, conductor, consultant, music educator, and percussionist, residing in New York City since 2015. He most recently served as Director of Bands at Stony Brook University for seven years, where he directed and oversaw all aspects of the NCAA Division 1 FCS Athletic Bands Program, and conducted the Wind Ensemble. He was also the Director and Coordinator of the State University of New York (SUNY) Annual Summer Pride Band. In December 2024, he led the Stony Brook Wind Ensemble in performance at the New York State School Music Association (NYSSMA) Winter Conference in Rochester––the first-ever appearance by a Stony Brook Music Department ensemble at the state music conference. As an active freelance musician and conductor in New York City, he has served as Associate Conductor of the Manhattan Wind Ensemble, Resident Guest Conductor of the Kings County Concert Band, Assistant Director and Conductor of the Lesbian & Gay Big Apple Corps Symphonic Band, as a percussionist with the Brooklyn Wind Symphony (BKWS), and as Artistic Director of the National Lesbian & Gay Marching Band (Washington DC). With the BKWS, he performed at the World Association for Symphonic Bands and Ensembles (WASBE) International Conference in Gwangju-Gyeonggi, South Korea (2024) and in San Jose, California (2015), including performances in Tokyo and Carnegie Hall. He can be heard as timpanist and section percussionist on the Michael Markowski / Brooklyn Wind Symphony album, under the direction of Jeff W. Ball. Before arriving at Stony Brook in 2018, Dr. Stolarik served approximately 700 real estate agents as Market Center Administrator of Operations (Chief Operating Officer) at Keller Williams New York City.

Prior to New York, Dr. Stolarik served as Associate Director of Bands and Director of Athletic Bands as the Gene Braught Chair of Music at the University of Oklahoma, and served as Assistant Director of Bands at both the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Henderson State University (Arkansas). During this time, he led bands to the Sugar Bowl (2014) in New Orleans, Tournament of Roses Parade and Rose Bowl Game (2011 Parade and Halftime, 2012 Parade and Halftime, 2013 Parade and Halftime) in Pasadena, and the Champs Sports Bowl (2009) in Orlando. His wind and percussion arrangements have been performed by athletic bands at football and basketball games around the country before audiences of over 80,000. In addition to athletic bands, he has arranged for the Dallas Winds and the University of Texas Wind Ensemble (both conducted by Jerry F. Junkin). Dr. Stolarik has worked with such notable performers as will.i.am (Black Eyed Peas), Everlast (House of Pain), Tom Wopat (Dukes of Hazzard), Ed Shaughnessy (The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson), Allee Willis, Carolyn Wonderland, Roky Erickson, Ray Benson (Asleep at the Wheel), Jerry Jeff Walker, and Ghostland Observatory.

Dr. Stolarik completed his Doctorate of Musical Arts and Master of Music degrees in Percussion Performance at the University of Texas at Austin, serving as a Graduate Assistant for the University Bands Department, and his Bachelor’s degree in Music Education, with Highest Honors, at the University of Florida. His primary percussion teachers were Thomas Burritt, Tony Edwards, and Kenneth Broadway. While at UT, he performed with the UT Wind Ensemble at Carnegie Hall in 2005 for the World Premiere of John Corigliano’s Symphony No. 3 “Circus Maximus,” and in 2008 at the Jungfrau Music Festival (Switzerland), Mid-Europe Festival (Austria), Wiltz Open-Air Festival (Luxembourg), Festival Veranos de la Villa (Spain), and in Cadogan Hall (London), featuring the same work. He can be heard as timpanist on the World Premiere recording available from Naxos Classical, under the direction of Jerry F. Junkin. Additionally, he can be heard as timpanist on the UTWE’s Starry Crown album available from Longhorn Music and as section percussionist on the TMEA 2006 Clinic & Convention recording available from Mark Custom (both also under the direction of Jerry F. Junkin). During his years at UF, he was a three-year Timpanist of the Madison Scouts Drum and Bugle Corps (2000, 2001, and 2002), and was two-time Drum Corps Midwest and Drum Corps International Timpani Solo Champion (2001 and 2002). He was featured in issues of Percussion News and Modern Drummer for these solo performances. He later served on teaching staff for the Madison Scouts as Front Line Instructor in 2003.

Dr. Stolarik is an honorary member of Kappa Kappa Psi (Alpha Tau) and Tau Beta Sigma (Theta Theta) National Band Service and Leadership Organizations, and led the founding of Stony Brook’s Xi Delta Chapter of Kappa Kappa Psi. He is also an active member of CBDNA, NYSSMA, NYSBDA, NAfME, SCMEA, and NMEA, and frequently presents at the NYSSMA Winter Conference in Rochester. In May 2024, he presented a Mental Health Panel Discussion at the College Band Directors National Association (CBDNA) Athletic Band Symposium at the University of Montana in Missoula, leading to a subsequent article in The Instrumentalist by Jason Cumberledge titled Safeguarding Mental Health: A Marching Roundtable (August/September 2024, Volume 79, Number 1).