Dr. Justin McManus (he/him) is director of athletic bands, associate director of bands, and assistant professor of music in the Herb Alpert School of Music at the University of California, Los Angeles. In this capacity, Dr. McManus directs and oversees the “Solid Gold Sound” Marching Band, Varsity (Pep) Band, and Symphonic Band, and teaches undergraduate conducting. Prior to UCLA, Dr. McManus served as director of athletic bands and assistant professor of music at the University of Connecticut where he led the “Pride of Connecticut” Marching Band and Pep Bands, conducted the Concert Band, and taught a leadership seminar. During his tenure, the UConn Marching Band surpassed 300 members, was invited to perform at its first NFL game in three decades and was selected by the Heisman Trophy Trust Foundation to perform at the 2024 Heisman Trophy Legends celebration in New York City.
Dr. McManus also served as assistant director of University Bands at the University of Notre Dame, conducting three wind bands and basketball pep band, assisted with the “Band of the Fighting Irish” Marching Band, and taught a course in instrumental methods. Dr. McManus has directed and planned extensively for postseason athletic events, including the 2024 NCAA Men’s Basketball National Championship, 2018 Women’s Basketball National Championship, and numerous bowl games including the Fiesta, Cotton, Citrus, and Fenway Bowls.
An active researcher, Dr. McManus’s work appears in Visions of Research in Music Education, The Oxford Handbook of Care in Music Education, and The Oxford Handbook of Gender and Queer Studies in Music, and he was awarded a fine arts research grant to investigate motivation to participate in high intensity performing arts organizations. Dr. McManus’s original scholarship on student burnout was featured at the 2025 National Association for Music Education Eastern Division Conference, and other professional development sessions have included experiences of AAPI music educators in teaching, learning, and research and LGBTQ+ issues in music education. In 2022, Dr. McManus received the Outstanding Dissertation Award from the Council of Research in Music Education.
Dr. McManus maintains an active portfolio as a clinician, adjudicator, and guest conductor, having worked with middle, high school, and collegiate ensembles from California, Illinois, Connecticut, Indiana, and Michigan. He has conducted numerous local, regional, and state honor bands and festivals, including the American School Band Directors Association (CT Chapter) Festival HS Symphonic Band and CT Music Educators Northern Region HS Concert Band. Dr. McManus has conducted in Croatia, South Africa, Slovenia, New Zealand, Australia, and Peru, and served as an adjudicator for the New Zealand National Concert Band Association Festival in Auckland, NZ. He also served as a staffer to Senator Alex Padilla of California in his Washington, D.C. office and received a certificate in public policy from the Penn Wharton Budget Model at the University of Pennsylvania.
Dr. McManus holds a doctorate in music education from Boston University and masters/undergraduate degrees in bassoon performance and music education from the University of Connecticut. Affiliations include the College Band Directors National Association, National Association for Music Education, Connecticut Music Educators Association, ACC Band Directors Association, and Congressional Korean American Staff Association. Dr. McManus is an alumni member of Tau Beta Sigma (Gamma Kappa) and honorary member of Kappa Kappa Psi (Delta Omicron).
