The OSU Marching Band. Credit: Lantern file photo
The second candidate for the Ohio State Marching Band director position is visiting the campus Monday and Tuesday.
Barry Houser, who serves as the director of the Marching Illini and Athletic Bands at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, is set to spend his time on campus participating in “extensive interviews, auditions, and conversations,” according to an email sent to band members from Scott Jones, associate director of university bands. That email was obtained by The Lantern on Monday.
Houser is the second of two finalists being considered for the band director position. The other finalist, Corey Spurlin, associate director of bands, marching band director and associate professor of music at Auburn University, was on campus last Wednesday and Thursday for a similar visit.
OSU originally said it expected the search process for a new director to wrap up by mid-February. Time constraints slowed the selection process last semester, OSU spokesman Chris Davey said in February.
The band’s previous director, Jonathan Waters, was fired after an OSU investigation found the band contained a sexualized culture.
