DIRECTORS

Mr. Fiske is the Retired Director of Bands at Joliet Central High School. He held this position from 2002 until his retirement in June 2016. Mr. Fiske was the fourth director of the Joliet Township High 

School Band at the Central Campus. 

Prior to Joliet Central, Mike enjoyed a 25-year career directing high school bands 

in Illinois and Indiana, including a successful tenure at Morris Community High School. At Morris Community High School, his bands consistently received First Division Ratings. They appeared at the University of Illinois Superstate Festival in 1991, 1992, 1993 and 1994, performing as Honor Band in Class A in 1992 and 1994. They were also Grand Champions at the Smoky Mountain Music Festival in 1992 and at Musicfest Orlando in 1994. Under Mike’s direction the Joliet Central Band continued its tradition of excellence. 

They were Grand Champions at Illinois State University in 2003 and 2013. They were Honor Band at the Dixie Classic Festival in Richmond, Virginia in 2014, Best in Class at Festival Disney in 2008, and Grand Champions at the New York National Freedom Festival in 2006. 

Awards include the Chicagoland Outstanding Music Educator Award, 2003; Steelman of the Year, 2011; Joliet Historical Museum Dream Maker Award, 2013; Joliet Area Great Teacher Award, 2015; the Mary Hoffman Award of Excellence, Illinois Music Education Association; 2016; and Legion of Honor Laureate, John Philip Sousa Foundation, 2016. 

He is a member of the Illinois Music Education Association, American School Band Directors Association, National Band Association and Phi Beta Mu. 

Rick Ellenberger, Jillian Kohler and Dr. James Kreuz, DDS