Patrick Hill is a retired US Navy Bandmaster. He joined the US Naval Reserves in 1994 while attending Illinois State University. In 1998, he auditioned for the United States Navy Music Program and was hired as a French Horn Instrumentalist. In 2012, he was commissioned as a Limited Duty Officer Bandmaster. He has traveled the United States performing for diverse audiences in the millions. The more people he met, the more passionate he became about reaching out to our communities and making them better through music.

He has been a guest conductor, clinician, and educator. He has spoken at professional development and research conferences and been interviewed on multiple television, radio, and internet platforms. In 2018, Lieutenant Hill was selected to lead Navy Band Great Lakes in Great Lakes, IL. Following in the footsteps of the band’s most prestigious alumnus, John Philip Sousa, LT Hill led the band through the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. Unable to perform live music, his team quickly shifted to providing virtual musical support and outreach. The band created over 120 professional video projects that reached over 22 million and increase the band’s online presence by over 600%! His team connected with music educators in several under-served, Spanish-speaking areas of the United States and provided professional music clinics and masterclasses in Spanish for those students. Under his leadership, Navy Band Great Lakes was the only Navy band to receive the Navy’s 2021 Retention Excellence Award. In the spring of 2022, his band took home 20% of all Navy Musician promotions for the spring 2022 promotion cycle.

He is a passionate Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion Champion. In the summer of 2020, the United States Navy established Task Force ONE Navy; an initiative designed to identify racial and gender barriers. He immediately volunteered to serve on this task force by facilitating focus groups, identifying areas of concern, and making recommendations. From February 2022 until his retirement from the Navy in September 2022, he served as Naval Service Training Command’s Chief Diversity Officer. In that role, he advised the Commander on initiatives and policies on all Naval Reserve Officers’ Training Corps selection processes, preparatory programs, and mentorship programs. After retiring from the Navy, Dr. Hill returned to Naval Service Training Command as the Unit Coordinator Supervisor and has since been promoted to the Student and Unit Operations Branch Head. In this role, he oversees NROTC student and unit operations for 78 NROTC units at 168 affiliated colleges and universities and over 6,500 students enrolled in the NROTC Program.

Dr. Hill has been published in School Band & Orchestra magazine and the U.S. Naval Institute’s “Proceedings” magazine. He also presented research on professional organizational development at the 2019 International Conference on Knowledge, Culture, and Change in Organizations in Vancouver, BC. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Music from Illinois State University, a Master of Arts in Public Policy & International Affairs from Liberty University, and a Doctor of Strategic Leadership from Regent University.