Randol (Randy) Bass accepted the position of Music Director and Conductor of the Metropolitan Winds in June, 1993. The group has grown dramatically under his leadership.

Mr. Bass has achieved an impressive array of performances by orchestras such as the Cleveland Orchestra, the Boston Pops Orchestra, and the Dallas Symphony Orchestra.   Active for over 15 years as an arranger, Mr. Bass is now focusing his talents on original compositions, largely due to the demand for his music. His most recently-premiered piece , Conquest of Paradise, can be heard on the April 30, 1996 release from the Boston Pops, Summon the Heroes and was performed at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta.

Born in Fort Worth, Texas, Mr. Bass grew up in Midland, Texas, studying piano and singing with local choral ensembles. A longtime student of choral conducting, Mr. Bass earned his Master of Music degree at The College-Conservatory of Music, the University of Cincinnati. His doctoral work includes both choral and wind conducting at Ohio State University's Robert Shaw Institute and at The University of Texas at Austin.

Mr. Bass, the composer, has been commissioned by several prestigious orchestras throughout the country, including the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, the Cleveland Orchestra, and the Boston Pops Orchestra to prepare symphonic works for various special events. His Gloria! had its premiere at Carnegie Hall in 1990 by the New York Pops Orchestra, becoming the fourth of his works to be performed there. In addition, his compositions have been performed by the Boston Pops Orchestra with the Tanglewood Festival Chorus, The Mormon Tabernacle Choir, the Grand Rapids Symphony and Chorus, the Dallas Symphony Chorus and many other orchestras and choruses throughout the United States and Europe.

Mr. Bass works actively in the community to further the non-professional's understanding and appreciation for musical arts. He has founded and conducted several civic wind and choral groups throughout his career, providing others the opportunities he enjoyed as a young performer in civic orchestras and theater groups. He founded the Austin Symphonic Band in 1982 and was its Music Director and Conductor for four years. That group continues to perform as the official music organization for the City of Austin. He was Music Director and Conductor of the Austin Community Orchestra for three years.