A dynamic conductor of both wind band and orchestral ensembles, Dr. Leah McGray is currently the conductor of the Wind Orchestra at Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, where she also teaches classes on Music Making and Social Justice, and Conducting. Previously, she was the Director of Instrumental Studies for the State University of New York at Geneseo, and Rhodes College in Memphis TN, conducting the Geneseo Symphony Orchestra, Geneseo Wind Ensemble, the Rhodes College Orchestra and Wind Ensemble, and teaching classes in conducting and theory. She has been the guest conductor for the Memphis Symphony Orchestra, Memphis Youth Symphony Orchestra, Rochester Philharmonic Youth Orchestra, Penfield Symphony Orchestra, and the 2023 National Youth Band of Canada. She is in demand internationally as a conductor and adjudicator across the United States, South Korea, and Canada.
Dr. McGray earned her DMA in conducting at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, Master of Music from University of Toronto, and Bachelor of Music and Bachelor of Education degrees from Acadia University in Nova Scotia, Canada. Awarded major grants for her work at the Masters and Doctoral level competitions of the Social Science Humanities and Research Council in Canada, her research explores techniques of non-verbal leadership, and orchestral and wind ensemble repertoire by traditionally underrepresented composers