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Music Veteran Robert Palmer Named Lindsey Wilson College Director of Bands

Educator, conductor excited about working 'in the heart of high school band country.'

by Duane Bonifer

COLUMBIA, Ky. (06/09/2025) — For Robert Palmer, being named Lindsey Wilson College director of bands is an opportunity to live and serve in one of the best musical places in the country.

Palmer comes to Lindsey Wilson from West Virginia Wesleyan College, where he served as director of athletic bands. The veteran horn player and conductor said it will be an honor to serve as the first band director of what will become Lindsey Wilson University on July 1.

"Lindsey Wilson is teeming with academic excellence, and it's teeming with a positive relationship with the community it serves," he said.

Palmer said that he and his wife, Bekah, are excited about living in Southcentral Kentucky, especially because of the region's reputation for fielding some of the best high school bands in the commonwealth.

"It is such a wonderful opportunity to be in the heart of high school band country, where I will get to interact with other band professionals, especially the Adair County High School Band," said Palmer. "I've known of the Adair County High School Band for decades, and I have nothing but respect for their world-class program."

Palmer said that a strong college band program starts with its students and "giving them the best possible experience we can so that they have the opportunity to continue playing in college."

The primary focus of a band program should be service. And Palmer said "there's a lot of service to be done" at Lindsey Wilson.

"When I say 'service,' I mean, service to students by providing them an excellent performing outlet," he said. "I also mean service to the school by presenting concerts, performing at athletic events and by being ambassadors of Lindsey Wilson when we go on tours; and service to the larger community and region through outreach projects, by participating in parades and by inviting other programs to play with us at games and other special events."

Palmer has been involved with school bands since his ninth grade year at United Township High School in East Moline, which is one of the top high school band programs in Illinois.

He earned a bachelor's degree and a master's degree in music from Western Illinois University and a doctorate of music in brass performance from Florida State University. Palmer said that horn playing "has always been a deep passion of mine" and "it has allowed me to travel and perform to different parts of the country, as well as around the world," both as a band member as well as a solo artist.

"That's something I'm passionate about and plan to continue," he said.

Lindsey Wilson College is a vibrant liberal arts college in Columbia, Kentucky. Founded in 1903 and affiliated with The United Methodist Church, the mission of Lindsey Wilson is to serve the educational needs of students by providing a living-learning environment within an atmosphere of active caring and Christian concern where every student, every day, learns and grows and feels like a real human being. Lindsey Wilson -- which will become Lindsey Wilson University on July 1 -- has an enrollment of more than 4,000 students, and the college offers 28 undergraduate majors, five graduate programs and a doctoral program. The college's 28 intercollegiate varsity athletic teams have won more than 120 team and individual national championships.

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Illinois native Robert Palmer has been named director of bands at Lindsey Wilson College, which will become Lindsey Wilson University on July 1.

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