David (DJ) Landoll named Penn’s Director of Bands

David (DJ) Landoll has been named the Director of Bands for Penn High School. He follows Glenn Northern as the Director of Bands for Penn. Northern will retire at the end of the 2024-2025 school year after 24 years of service as an educator at Penn, 14 as the Director of Bands.

Penn Principal Dr. Sean Galiher announced the appointment of Landoll as the Director of Bands for Penn.

“This job is an opportunity to more meaningfully take care of the people in our band community, the way that Glenn Northern has done for 14 years,” Landoll said. “I would not be here without his guidance and the support of the many great people in and around P-H-M’s band programs.”

Landoll’s primary responsibilities will include leadership of the concert band curriculum and management of the larger band program, encompassing the booster organization, resources and budget, and staff coordination.

He will also supervise and instruct one of Indiana’s elite Marching Bands. The Marching Kingsmen have competed in the Indiana State Marching Band Finals 20 times in the largest school Open Class A Division. Penn’s Marching Band has performed in the historic Tournament of Roses Parade, the Orange Bowl Parade, the Fiesta Bowl Parade, the Philadelphia Thanksgiving Day Parade, and the Hollywood Christmas Parade.

Landoll has served as Assistant Band Director at Penn since 2017, with responsibility to the competitive marching band, each of the concert bands, the pep band, the Music Technology class, the Tri-M Music Honors Society, and the leadership development curriculum. He has held coordination/leadership roles in various aspects of the marching band program, as well as the recruitment and retention of students. 

Presiding over a period of growth and development in the pep band, Landoll’s concert bands have consistently earned top marks at adjudications, including, most often, the “gold with distinction” honors achieved by only about 15 percent of statewide high school entries. He assisted Glenn Northern in last year’s State Runner-Up Concert Band.  In 2024, he was named one of “Michiana’s Outstanding Music Educators” by the Quinlan and Fabish Music Company.

Landoll earned a Master of Music in Conducting from James Madison University, and a Bachelor of Science in Music Education from Duquesne University. A native of Cleveland, Ohio, Landoll attended St. Ignatius High School, where he was active in the band program, a National Merit scholar, and an Eagle Scout. He is an avid fan and advocate of the marching arts, and has a combined 12 seasons of marching and teaching experience in DCI’s World Class.