It's an autumn evening at a high-school football stadium in Anytown, U.S.A., and the marching band is about to take the field. Depending on your seat, the weather may be New England crisp or Arizona arid. The stadium might be surrounded by farm fields, suburban tract houses or blocks of urban apartments.

But one aspect of the halftime show will undoubtedly be similar, no matter what color uniforms the band is wearing. Wherever you are, there’s a decent chance you’ll be listening to music either written or arranged by an Ohioan with a worldwide following: James Swearingen, a former Ohio high-school band director who’s now professor and division head of music education at Capital University. To read more, click here to subscribe. >>