A native of Michigan, Dr. Timothy Topolewski began his professional career while still in high school, when he was selected through international competition to perform as soloist and conductor with band, chorus, and orchestra on a summer tour of the major cities of Mexico. He holds a Bachelor of Science in music education from Michigan State University, a Master of Music in music education from the Catholic University of America, and a Doctor of Musical Arts, earned as a full-scholarship recipient, from the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana.

Prior to his appointment at the Crane School of Music in Potsdam, New York, Dr. Topolewski served as clarinet soloist with the United States Army Band, “Pershing’s Own,” in Washington, D.C. He has appeared as conductor, clinician, or soloist on the conference programs of the American Bandmasters Association, the Midwest Band and Orchestra Convention, the College National Band Directors Association, and the National Band Directors Association, and has led national and international band and orchestra festivals, including performances in Melbourne and Brisbane, Australia, and in Berlin, Dresden, Potsdam, and Leipzig, Germany.

A respected scholar of the wind band repertoire, Dr. Topolewski is co-editor, with Frederick Fennell, of Percy Grainger’s “Lincolnshire Posy,” published by Ludwig Music; editor of Carl Fischer’s publication of Grainger’s “Colonial Song”; and editor of the Warner Brothers publication of Bernard Rogers’s “Three Japanese Dances.” His work in this capacity, including his seven-volume “Errata Studies for the Wind Band Conductor,” has won the acclaim of the nation’s finest educators, conductors, and composers. In 2001 he received the President’s Award for Excellence in Research and Creative Endeavors for his sabbatical publication “Mastering Score Study” for conductors.

Dr. Topolewski retired as Distinguished Teaching Professor of Music from the Crane School of Music in 2007, where he conducted the wind ensemble and opera orchestra and taught music theory. He now leads Encore Symphonic Winds and resides in Williamsburg, Michigan.