Roque Diaz is an avid scholar, educator, musician, composer, creator, music director, and is currently pursuing a PhD in Music Education and Creative Studies and Media at the University of Minnesota. Roque recently presented “Policies that Matter: Creating a Voice through Policy Awareness for Music Teacher Educators”, at the 2017 Society for Music Teacher Educators Conference in Minneapolis, MN. He will be presenting his next research “Embedding Diversity: A Case Study of the Artistic Citizenship Practices of a Regional Arts Council”, at the 2018 Reflective Conservatoire Conference in London, England. Roque’s research interests are in creating a body movement and awareness curriculum for the marching arts, arts education policy, and embedding diversity and strengthening equity and inclusion into the arts. Roque has developed a keen artistic eye and endless creative ideas travelling the world performing in such hit shows as “Jersey Boys”, “How the Grinch Stole Christmas”, “Josh Groban on Tour”, “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang”, “Chicago the Musical”, “Blast!”, and much more. During Roque’s tenure with “Blast!”, he performed as a trumpet soloist and musical conductor. A seasoned veteran in the marching arts activity, Roque performed with Tarheel Sun (Cary, NC) and the Blue Knights Drum and Bugle Corps (Denver, CO) where he was awarded the gold medal (2001) for the individual solo and ensemble championship on trumpet. Roque has composed and arranged for many K-12 programs, universities, and arts organizations. Roque is in the process of forming an international arts organization that is dedicated to making the arts a viable career choice whose mission is to provide consistent and sustainable employment to all diverse artists.