John Meehan is the Executive and Artistic Director for Spiritus Marching Arts Association in Calgary, Alberta. Within this position, John oversees the current ensembles as well as guides the growth of the non-profit to service youth in Calgary and the surrounding areas. John is also actively a designer and consultant for the Calgary Round-Up Band and Calgary Stetson Show Band, as well as an educational clinician for the Calgary Catholic School District, and the Calgary Board of Education.

John has been on the educational and design staff of the Blue Devils Drum & Bugle Corps since 1994, where he is the brass arranger for the A, B, & C Corps Programs. John was also a key member in the development of BD Entertainment (which is a for profit component BD Performing Arts), and has composed, arranged, and performed for such events as Super Bowl 50, the San Francisco 49’ers, the Golden State Warriors, and many others.

John has been composing and arranging for marching bands around the world since 1992, and is a world-renowned clinician on brass pedagogy, ensemble technique, and performance excellence. John’s current and past clients can be found in Canada, the United States, Brazil, China, England, Ireland, and Japan.

Some of John’s other writing includes composing for “The Music of WYLAND” CD, scoring scenes for several student and independent films, composing two spots fora major health institution in the United States, and being commissioned to write several wind ensemble pieces.

John was inducted into the Drum Corps International Hall of Fame in 2019, the World Drum Corps Hall of Fame in 2019, and the Buglers Hall of the Fame in 2016.

John is an active audio and video editor, and has provided high-quality performance edits for activities such as Winter Guard, Dance Studios, and Figure Skating. From March 2020 through June 2022, John provided over 250 audio and video edits for high school and college bands and dance programs that were unable to perform in their typical fashion due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Notable career achievements include lead designer for both the System Blue and King marching brass instrument series, development and production for the Sample Logic and System Blue sound libraries (including Fanfare and V.E.T.), being a nationally recognized adjudicator for marching band circuits such as Bands of America, and as a performer on the movie soundtrack “Monsters University” as a percussionist.

John is a Conn-Selmer Artist, Educator, and Product Designer; and solely uses Sibelius, Logic, and Final Cut Pro X for his composing and editing work.

John lives in Calgary, Alberta with his incredibly supportive wife Jackie, and together they have 3 daughters, and an awesome rescue dog named Sully.