King’s Cathedral Youth Band is a christian cooperative program. We have beginning band classes, as well as a Symphonic Band for more advanced musicians. The directors are professional music educators, volunteering their time to keep the price as low as possible.
Symphonic Band
A band for more advanced musicians, by audition. This group will focus on more challenging music and great band literature.
Beginning Band
For those students who have not played an instrument before, or students from other programs who are not yet at the Symphonic Band level. We offer the following instruments: flute, clarinet, trumpet, french horn, baritone, and trombone. Our instructors provide specialized instruction separately for brass and woodwind instruments as needed.
Directors and Instructors
Emily Coile
Emily Coile received her music degree with honors from the University of Maryland (UMD) and studied with Genovese, Hudson, Eberly, Vadala, and Walters. Emily Coile held the principal clarinet chair in the University of Maryland’s Orchestra and Symphonic Wind Ensemble, and played alto saxophone in UMD’s Jazz Band. She has performed with the Summer Opera Theater Company, Washington Pro Musica, the Chinese-American Orchestra, and the Capital Wind Symphony.
She directed the bands and orchestras at Governor Thomas Johnson Middle School in Frederick County, Maryland and started the band and orchestra program at St Elizabeth School in Rockville, Maryland. She established and directs the Kings Cathedral Youth Band program. Emily home-schooled her three children, each of whom won college music scholarships.
Emily maintains a clarinet studio in Gaithersburg. Her private clarinet students have won concerto competitions at the regional, state, national, and international levels. Her private students are regular performers with area honor groups, and have held principal positions in the Mid-Atlantic Music Festival, Potomac Valley Youth Orchestra, Maryland Classic Youth Orchestra, St Cecilia Youth Orchestra, Montgomery County Honors Band, West Virginia Honor Band, and the Maryland All-State Band and Maryland All-State Orchestra. Her students have performed internationally in Europe, Central America, and South America, and locally with the Capital Wind Symphony and the Baltimore Symphony. Mrs. Coile’s students have gone on to play at conservatories such as Peabody and Shenandoah, as well as state universities and private colleges including Carnegie Mellon, Yale, Cornell, WashU, and Princeton.
Jennifer Caldwell
Mrs. Caldwell graduated from Shepherd University with a BA in Music Education, specializing in instrumental music. Her principal instrument is the clarinet. She taught elementary and middle school band in local Catholic schools from 1995-2002 and many years of private lessons. She home schools her four children and two of them currently participate in the KCYBP. Her husband, Dave, can often be spotted playing with the French Horn section in the Concert Band and Wind Ensemble.
Mark Melgaard
Mr. Mark Melgaard has been playing drums for over three decades. At Rockville High School, he studied under his favorite band teacher, Mr. Ken Dahlin (see below). Mr. Melgaard has played in several rock bands and has even cut a record. (If you’re too young to know what a record is, just ask somebody over 40.) At the University of Maryland, he played in the marching band and pep band, where he met his wife, Mrs. Kristi Melgaard, who now homeschools their children. Currently Mr. Melgaard instructs KCYBP’s percussion sections in the beginning band, concert band, wind ensemble, and jazz band. At times, he has been known to play along with the students. He just can’t resist!
Ken Dahlin
Mr. Dahlin received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in music education from the University of Maryland. He retired after teaching bands and orchestras in Montgomery County Public Schools for 32 years in high schools and elementary schools.
Beginning in 1964, he directed band and orchestra at Richard Montgomery High School, where he had previously been a student! He spent nine years teaching band, orchestra, pep band, marching band and directing orchestras for school musicals. During Ken’s time at Richard Montgomery the band hosted and went to New York City on two exchange programs. Ken was awarded best young teacher by the Rockville Jaycees.
1972 began Ken’s tenure at Rockville High School, where he directed the bands for eighteen years. During that time, the bands were selected to perform at Disney World nine times, and one time at the “Grand Ole Opry” Stage in Tennessee. The Rockville Marching Band was awarded best half time shows for the Metropolitan area by the Referees Association. A Govenor’s Citation was given to the bands for performing for special needs students on many annual occasions.
The last six years of Ken’s career were spent teaching at the elementary level in the Olney Schools. It was during this time that he began writing music and arrangements for young students. He has sold these arrangements through his website to music teachers around the country.
For over 25 years, Mr. Dahlin has directed adult church choirs. At times, he has also directed children and youth choirs. He has directed at Poolesville Episcopal, Rockville United Methodist and Oakdale Emory United Methodist Churches.
Ann Dahlin
Ann Dahlin received her bachelor’s degree in music education from the University of Maryland. She retired after more than 15 years teaching elementary bands and orchestras in Montgomery County Public Schools. Ann has also taught countless years as a private piano and flute instructor.
She began her career In 1966 as an instrumental music teacher. She taught in the Silver Spring area for nearly three years. She then stayed home fourteen years raising three children, two of whom are now music teachers. All three children received college music scholarships! Upon re-entering the work force, she went back to Montgomery County Public Schools as an aide. Two years were at Chevy Chase Elementary School working with Speech, Reading, Special Education and ESOL teachers. (Esol is English for Speakers of Other Languages.) She spent three years as an aide at Cashell Elementary School working with first through fifth grade teachers.
In 1988, Ann began a second career as an instrumental music teacher in Gaithersburg at Brown Station and Diamond Elementary schools. After 9 years, she transferred to the Olney area and taught at Belmont, Greenwood and Olney Elementary Schools.
Ann met her future husband, Ken Dahlin, at the University of Maryland in the Madrigal Singers while on a cultural exchange program through the Kennedy Administration. During the spring semester of 1964, the Madrigals toured the Near East, North Africa, England and Ireland, giving 88 concerts. Ann played recorder and flute as a soloist, accompanied by harpsichord and piano. The first half of the program was performed as the Renaissance period. The Madrigals dressed in clothing of the era. During the intermission, the Madrigals changed into contemporary clothing of the time and performed music by contemporary American composers. Ann played the recorder the first half and flute in the second half of the program. At the closing of the concert, the singers sang American Folk Songs some of which were accompanied by Ken Dahlin on guitar. On the flight from the US to Greece, there was a layover in Paris where the harpsichord was placed on the wrong flight. Our director asked Ken if he would arrange music for recorder and guitar, so Ken arranged variations on Greensleeves. At that time, he was a graduate student and Ann was a mere sophomore. There was no paper on which Ken could write his arrangements. At the end of our rehearsal he said “don’t forget these variations.” Ann was afraid of him and forgetting his arrangements. Ann and Ken have been married 45 years and consider Greensleeves “their song”.