JAMES ANTONUCCI has performed all across the country along-side some of the most renowned jazz artists past and present. For 20 years, he has also been an educator in public, private, non-profit and community music sector across the tri-state area. When not playing saxophone or teaching improvisation, Mr. Antonucci is a committed music & art district supervisor for public school systems in lower Fairfield County and Greater Farmington Valley, CT.
Mr. Antonucci’s instrumental and choral groups have received first place, national finalist recognition, numerous soloist and outstanding section awards at many regional and national competitions including Downbeat Magazine Student Music Awards, Essentially Ellington Competition at Jazz at Lincoln Center, the Mingus Competition, National Jazz Festival, Heritage Music Festivals, Disney Festival, and the Berklee College of Music High School Jazz Festival.
Besides an extensive breadth of K-12 general, instrumental and choral classroom experience across different districts, Mr. Antonucci has experience in the non-profit sector as Manager of Educational Programs, K-12 at Jazz at Lincoln Center in NYC. During this time he traveled around the country and was an advocate for public school music education and jazz education programs.
Mr. Antonucci spent 10 years as the Director of Bands at Hall High School in West Hartford, CT. During this time he was Producer and Director of the 65+ year tradition, Pops N Jazz. He commissioned works for the dancers, singers and bands while inviting over 25 professional singers, jazz instrumentalists and dancers to audiences in Greater Hartford. The show toured Europe 3 times and grew to in-person audiences of over 7000 people here and abroad, with further reach online. Mr. Antonucci co-founded the Summer Jazz Jam & Shoreline Jazz Collective with his wife, Rachel, which served thousands of students for over 14 years. Mr. Antonucci was the CMEA All State Jazz Chair Co-Chair 2014-2024 and past NAfME Eastern Division Jazz Ensemble Chair.
Mr. Antonucci has an undergraduate degree from the University of Miami (FL) as a saxophone, jazz and studio music performance major, and has a Master of Arts in music education from New York University. He has his sixth year degree in Educational Leadership from SCSU.
As a professional saxophonist and woodwindist, Mr. Antonucci has performed with Wynton Marsalis, Sherman Irby, Nicole Zuratis, Slide Hampton, Marcus Printup, Alexa Tarantino, Wycliffe Gordon, John Daversa, Hank Jones, Chris Crenshaw, Ted Nash, Arturo O’Farrill, Alita Moses, Elliott Mason, Lakecia Benjamin, Lenny Pickett, Alex Sipiagin, the New York Voices, Teo Macero, Kenny Werner, Tatum Greenblatt, Matt Wilson, George Garzone, Jim McNeely, Dick Oatts, John Mosca, Scott Wedholt, and Ralph Lalama. He has performed professionally in NYC at the Bluenote, Birdland, Avery Fisher Hall, Rose Hall and Dizzy’s Club (JALC), and Jazz Standard jazz clubs. Locally he has performed with the Hartford, New Haven, and Waterbury Symphonies, and at the Goodspeed Opera House.
Karla McClain (she/her) is a National Board Certified Teacher in Early Adolescent/Young Adulthood Music in her 27th year of teaching. Currently, she is the Choral Director at Illing Middle School in Manchester, CT. Prior to teaching in Manchester, Karla taught at Irving A. Robbins Middle School and East Farms Elementary in Farmington, CT, in West Hartford, CT and Hilliard, OH. Karla previously served as the Assistant Director of Laurel Music Camp.
Karla is an active presenter and clinician and has presented for state, regional, and national conferences. She served as conductor for the RI All-State Jr. High Mixed Choir in 2023, and the CMEA Southern Region Treble Choir in 2020. Her choirs have been Featured Showcase Ensembles for the CMEA State Conference, most recently in 2024. In 2023, her choir students collaborated with CONCORA to perform “A Passion for the Planet” by Geoffrey Hudson, and with Manchester Chorale to perform Britten’s “Ceremony of Carols.” Karla has served on the Diversity Initiatives Committee of CT-ACDA and is currently the Middle School Repertoire and Resources Chair for ACDA Eastern Division. She is a past member of the Professional Development Committee for CMEA, and co-chaired the vocal committee for aligning audition repertoire for the middle school regional festivals. She is also a frequent adjudicator for Regionals and All-State. As a performer, she has remained active by singing as a soloist and section leader, currently with the South Church Chancel Choir in New Britain. She is also a member of the professional choir, CONCORA.
Karla received her Bachelor of Music in education from Ohio Wesleyan University, and her Master of Science in Music Education from Central Connecticut State University. In 2021, she was selected as the CT- ACDA Choral Director of the Year. She has a passion for using music technology and global music to engage students. She lives in Cromwell, CT with her husband and 2 children.
David Hagy was Music Director of the Salisbury Symphony Orchestra for 36 years through 2024 and is now titled Music Director Emeritus and continues to conduct the annual Nutcracker production. He retired in 2022 from Wake Forest University following 27 years as the Orchestra Director there. During his time there he taught three semesters at Wake Forest’s Casa Artom in Venice, Italy. He also conducted youth orchestras in Omaha, Springfield (MA), Greensboro, and Winston-Salem and has music-directed over fifty musical theater productions.
Dr. Hagy grew up in Indianapolis and credits that city’s public school system with enabling him to become a classical musician. He went to Indiana University as a violinist and Yale as a conductor, and attributes his conducting abilities to study with Thomas Briccetti and Otto-Werner Mueller.
Dr. Hagy graduated magna cum laude as a Violin Performance major from Indiana University and holds master’s and doctor’s degrees in Orchestral Conducting from Yale University. He currently lives in Long Island City, NY with his cat Dario and is pleased to be not only working with the students at Laurel Music Camp for his fourteenth time but also one of its newest senior staff members!
Justin McManus (he/him) is the associate director of bands, director of athletic bands, and assistant professor of music at the University of California, Los Angeles. At UCLA, Dr. McManus directs the “Solid Gold Sound” Bruin Marching Band, Varsity Band, and Symphonic Band. Additionally, Dr. McManus teaches undergraduate conducting and other music education courses in the Herb Alpert School of Music.
Previously, Dr. McManus served as director of athletic bands and assistant professor of music at the University of Connecticut where he directed the 315-member Pride of Connecticut Marching Band, Pep Bands, and conducted the university concert band. While at UConn, the UConn Marching Band was invited to perform for its first NFL halftime in 30 years and was later selected by the Sudler Trophy Trust Foundation to represent collegiate marching bands at the 2024 Sudler Trophy Legends celebration in New York City. Dr. McManus has presented at several professional development sessions, including the 2025 National Association for Music Education Eastern Division Conference and the Boston University (BU) Professional Development series. An active researcher, Dr. McManus has been published in two music education handbooks published by Oxford University Press and was recently awarded a research grant for a study on factors influencing participation in performing arts activities.
Dr. McManus also served as Assistant Director of University Bands at the University of Notre Dame and as adjudicator of the New Zealand National Concert Band Association Festival. He received a doctorate in music education from the BU School of Music and graduate/undergraduate degrees in bassoon performance and music education from the University of Connecticut. Originally from Torrington, CT, Dr. McManus attended LMC as a camper and later as a JC. He has been thrilled to return as conductor of the 2025 LMC Concert Band.
Michael Alderman is a keyboardist and multi-instrumentalist residing in New Haven, Connecticut. After graduating Summa Cum Laude from the University of Bridgeport with a degree in Music Education, focus in Pipe Organ, his career has taken him around the state to work with a diverse array of ensembles as an accompanist and liturgical musician. Michael has served as the music director of Our Lady Star of the Sea Church in Stamford, Connecticut for the past 6 years, and has recently taken on the position of Glee Club Accompanist at Fairfield University. Previously, he has worked as the collaborative pianist for Old Saybrook Public Schools and the Fairfield County Chorale. On the side, Michael enjoys frequent collaborations as an organist/harpsichordist with the Fairfield County Chorale, as well as his perennial summer appearance as Laurel Music Camp’s choral accompanist. Recent festival appearances include accompanying the 2025 Shorelines festival and 2026 Eastern Regional Treble Choir. In his free time, Michael enjoys writing music and building musical community within his city, and is an active member of the American Guild of Organists, where he helps to plan concert and educational programs in Southern Connecticut.