John Hylkema is a dynamic music educator, conductor, and professional musician based in central New Jersey. Since 2024, John has served as the Assistant Director of Bands at Hunterdon Central Regional High School (HC) where his duties include co-directing the 3 concert bands, jazz ensembles, serving as the co-advisor for HC’s chapter of the Tri-M National Music Honor Society, and is the Assistant Director of the Marching Red Devils. Previously, he served as Director of Bands at Readington Middle School in Readington, NJ where he was named the New Jersey Governor’s Educator of the Year in 2018 and helped the district gain national recognition as one of the Best Communities for Music Education from the NAMM Foundation.

In 2012 John earned a Bachelor’s degree in Music Education, and in 2014, earned Master’s degrees in both Wind Conducting and Music Education, all from Syracuse University’s Setnor School of Music. During this time he served as Music Director and Conductor of the University Concert Band, Graduate Teaching Assistant for all the concert and athletic bands as well as instrumental music education courses, and performed as the principal trumpet in the University Orchestra, Wind Ensemble, Jazz Ensemble, and various other musical organizations on campus and in the Syracuse community. John is currently pursuing his Doctor of Musical Arts at Rutgers University’s Mason Gross School of the Arts where he studies conducting with Dr. Todd Nichols and Dr. Julia Baumanis.

As a conductor, John has previously studied with Dr. Bradley Ethington, Dr. James Tapia, Dr. John Laverty, Dr. Justin Mertz, and Maestro Daniel Hege of the former Syracuse Symphony Orchestra. He has also studied trumpet with Gabriel DiMartino and Larry Wright, and has performed and recorded albums with world-renowned artists such as Vince DiMartino, Ronald L. Caravan, Kenny DeCarlo, Joseph Alessi, Carol Jantsch, Marshal McDonald, Maynard Ferguson, and the Boston Brass. Aside from the RVSB, John performs with the Eastern Wind Symphony, serves as the Assistant Director and Principal Trumpet for the Raritan Valley Symphonic Band, freelances as a pit orchestra musician, and continues to attend various conducting symposia around the country. His professional organizations include the National Association for Music Education, New Jersey Music Educators Association, New Jersey Association of Jazz Education, Pi Kappa Lambda, and Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia.