Dr. William L. Lake Jr.

LAKELAND, Fla. — On May 3, 2018, William L. Lake Jr., was conferred the degree Doctor of Musical Arts — Instrumental Conducting from The University of North Carolina at Greensboro under the tutelage of Drs. John R. Locke and Kevin M. Geraldi.

Dr. Lake is a native of Cambridge, and the son of the late William and Janice Lake Sr. He is a 2002 graduate of Cambridge-South Dorchester High School with honors.

Dr. Lake had a vibrant music education in Dorchester County. Dr. Lake’s conducting career began as the first student conductor of the band at Maple Elementary School. He recalls asking Candace Allebach, director at the time, “Why do you get to conduct — and all we get to do is play our instruments?” Responding to this inquiry, Ms. Allebach invited and coached William through his first instrumental conducting performance of “Aura Lee.”

While growing up in Dorchester County, Dr. Lake was an accomplished church musician principally playing at Waugh United Methodist Church. Dr. Lake, is “still thankful for the breadth of musical genres, from classical anthems to gospel, that were part of the musical tradition at the church.”

Currently, Dr. Lake is Assistant Professor of Music, Director of Bands and Symphony Orchestra at Southeastern University in Lakeland, Fla. Since his hire as director, the Wind Ensemble and Symphony Orchestra have flourished in numbers and musicianship. Dr. Lake has inaugurated the university’s first Atheltic Pep Band and Gospel Choir. He is the university’s second Wind Ensemble and Symphony Orchestra director.

Dr. William Lake Jr. is the recipient of two master’s degrees, the first from Boston University in Music Education (2011), and the second from the University of Maryland College Park in Wind Conducting (2014) under the mentorship of Dr. Michael Votta Jr. In May 2006, Dr. Lake received the Bachelor of Music Liberal Arts — Jazz Studies Piano Performance Degree from the University of Maryland College Park as a student of Jon Ozment and Christopher Vadala. He was Drum Major of the “Mighty Sound of Maryland” Marching Band for four consecutive years. After graduating in 2006, Dr. Lake continued post-baccalaureate studies in instrumental music education with Dr. Bruce Carter.

Dr. Lake was hired by Prince George’s County Public School System as Director of bands at Gwynn Park High School in 2007. The Gwynn Park High School band

program experienced considerable growth during his tenure as an instrumental music educator and music department chair Notable achievements include consecutive Superior Performances at Prince George’s County Music Assessment Festival, Superior Performance at the Maryland State Festival, special invitation to perform at the Library of Congress, America Online’s 25th Anniversary, and Drumline Live in Hamilton, Bermuda.

As a church musician, Professor Lake has served as Assistant Director of Worship and the Arts at St. Paul United Methodist Church in Winston-Salem, NC, an organist and Director of the Men’s Chorus, Zamar Adult and Youth Praise Team (2014-2017), and Minister of Music at Mt. Moriah Baptist Church - Washington, DC (2008-2017). In 2014, Dr. Lake organized 15 churches from the Washington Metropolitan Area to present G. F. Handel’s Messiah as a canned food drive for the Capitol Hill Foodbank. As a result of this effort, over 1.5 tons of canned food were collected for those in need during the winter months.

Dr. William L. Lake Jr. has guest conducted the Prince George’s County High School Honor Band, Virginia Band, and Orchestra Director’s — District One Middle School Honors Band, the Prince George’s County Summer Instrumental Music Camp, and the Prince George’s County Middle School Honors Band.

In February of 2018, Dr. Lake presented a paper on a panel discussion titled, “The Oak is in the Acorn: Fostering Potential through Mentorship” on a panel of the Eastern Divison of the College Band Director’s Association at Yale University in Hartford, Conn. He is a member of the Conductor’s Guild, the College Band Directors National Association, Kappa Kappa Psi, National Honorary Band Fraternity, Inc., Honorary member of Tau Beta Sigma, National Honorary Band Sorority, Inc., Phi Mu Alpha, Sinfonia, and Alpha Phi Alpha, Fraternity, Inc.

Dr. Lake has dedicated his dissertation, “A Conductor’s Analysis and Performance Guide for John Mackey’s ‘Songs from the End of the World’ (2015)” to several notable Dorchester County Music Educators including Robert Batson, Tina Meekins, Deborah Roe, Anne Hufnagel, and Candace Allebach.