About
Meet the Staff
BU Bands Administration
Chris Parks, Director of BU Bands
Mr. Parks is the Director of the Boston University Bands, which provides quality music opportunities for members of the Boston University community. Mr. Parks' has also been Director of Athletic Bands since 2001. In addition to Athletic Bands, Mr. Parks conducts the Boston University Concert Band.
Mr. Parks grew up in El Paso Texas, where he attended the University of Texas at El Paso. After receiving his Bachelors of Music Education in El Paso, he moved to Boston to pursue his Masters in Trumpet Performance, which he completed in 1995. Upon graduating, Chris spent 5 years touring nationally and internationally with numerous Broadway musicals, including The King & I and The Sound of Music. He has toured with Marie Osmond and John Davidson and has performed with Julio Iglesias, Bobby Shew and Dizzy Gillespie.
Mr. Parks has been a member of the faculty/staff of the Tanglewood Institute, the Atlantic Brass Quintet Seminar, Southwind Drum and Bugle Corps, The Spartans Drum and Bugle Corps and the Drum Major Academy.
Michael Barsano, Program Administrator For the BU Bands
Mr. Barsano hails from Douglas, Massachusetts and recently graduated with a Bachelors of Fine Arts in Graphic Design from the University of Massachusetts-Lowell. While at UMass, Mr. Barsano played an integral role in the University's Residence Life Program serving as an Assistant Resident Director during his final year at the University.
Having been involved with marching bands for most of his life, Mr. Barsano brings a wealth of experience to the BU Bands program. From 2002 through 2005, Mr. Barsano was a member of the Spartans Drum and Bugle Corps winning the DCI World Championship with them in 2004. He was later invited to join their staff as a Visual Instructor and helped lead the Spartans to their 4th DCI title in 2007. In addition to his many appointments, Mr. Barsano also teaches with the well-known Shepherd Hill Marching Band from Dudley, Massachusetts.
Jason Wang, Graduate Assistant
Mr. Wang holds a degree in music from Cornell University where as an undergraduate, he performed with and conducted the Wind Ensemble and Trombone Choir under the direction of Mark Davis Scatterday and James P. Miller. At Cornell, Mr. Wang served two years as President of the Wind Ensemble and twice as the Student Representative on the Director of Wind Bands Search Committee. In 2004, Mr. Wang was nominated for the Undergraduate Artist of the Year award, a university-wide prize given to an outstanding Senior for achievement in the arts. An alumnus of the Jr. and Sr. Massachusetts Youth Wind Ensembles (MYWE) at the New England Conservatory of Music, Mr. Wang guest conducted Jr. MYWE in 2005. He has studied conducting with James P. Miller and David Martins and continues his studies as a Master of Music candidate in the department of Historical Performance at Boston University.
