Shanti Simon’s first band performance as a conductor for the United States Air Force was on a national stage during a tree lighting ceremony at the White House.

It was 2011, and President Barack Obama was there with his daughters, and Michelle Obama was on stage reading a story with Kermit the Frog, with the band playing on national television. In the seven years that followed, Simon conducted performances across the country and around the world for the U.S. Air Force Academy Band in Colorado Springs and the U.S. Air Force Band in Washington, D.C.

Now, she’s bringing that experience to the University of Colorado Boulder, where she became the director of bands this fall.

“It really was an incredible experience,” Simon said. “While academia and my degrees taught me how to be a great artist, the Air Force added to that, and it continued to push me as an artist because I was working with some of the best professional musicians in the country. But it also added a layer of leadership training and managing a large organization and being part of something that was much greater than me.”

After seven years as a flight commander and associate conductor for the Air Force, Simon left active duty and joined the Oklahoma Air National Guard. She also became the director of bands at the University of Oklahoma. Simon left OU to join CU Boulder. She continues to serve as a major in the Oklahoma Air National Guard and is an associate conductor of the Oklahoma City Philharmonic in addition to her full-time role at CU Boulder.

“It has been a tremendous honor to serve my country and to put on the uniform,” Simon said. “I didn’t expect when I joined that I would be so impacted by the camaraderie, the way that people take care of one another in the military and the family that is created through that shared experience.”

John Davis, the dean of the College of Music at CU Boulder, said Simon is also a leader in using visual enhancements and lights in classical band performances. For example, as soon as the conductor hits the first downbeat, the lights change to signal a shift in the mood and music. Simon organizes the performance so the lights change colors throughout, enhancing the performance by engaging the audience and performers with visuals as well as sound.

“To me, it’s elevating the experience of the audience member,” Davis said. “It’s elevating their appreciation of the music because you have yet another sense that is being impacted by what the music is doing.”

Simon fell in love with music at a young age and was inspired to teach and conduct by her teachers and band directors growing up. After she earned her Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University of Minnesota, she had a choice between joining the military or pursuing a college teaching job. She never expected to join the military and didn’t know it was an option for her music career until the opportunity came along and someone she knew recommended that she apply.

“I was really intrigued with the idea of using music to serve my country,” Simon said.

Active duty Air Force bands have a mission to honor, inspire and connect, Simon said. The bands honor the nation’s veterans through ceremonies and funeral services.

In 2016, Simon was deployed for six months as a band officer to several countries in the Middle East and Southwest Asia, including Qatar, Jordan and Kuwait. She especially remembers the band visiting children at their schools and seeing how eager the kids were to hear the band play. The children would then be up and dancing during the performance and often hugged the Air Force musicians afterward.

“I just remember watching this and thinking, this one day could have an impact on relationships between these countries,” Simon said. “As these kids grow up and become leaders in their countries, they have now had this positive experience, not just with the Air Force, but with the United States.”