Amy M. Knopps is the Associate Director of Bands and Director of Athletic Bands at the University of Missouri, where she directs Marching Mizzou, Mini Mizzou, and the Symphonic Band, while also teaching undergraduate and graduate courses in the School of Music. Since her appointment in 2017, Marching Mizzou has grown from 245 members to a current capacity of 350. Under her leadership, the ensemble performed in the 96th Annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in 2022—leading the parade and appearing in the opening number alongside Lea Michele and the cast of Funny Girl—and earned the distinction of “Best Overall Band” at the 2024 St. Patrick’s Festival Parade in Dublin, Ireland. In another prestigious milestone, Marching Mizzou has been invited to participate in London Band Week in June 2026, a distinct honor as this is an invitation-only event recognizing elite musical ensembles from around the world.

Prior to joining Mizzou, Dr. Knopps served for seven years as Associate Professor of Music, Associate Director of Bands, and Director of Athletic Bands at Eastern Michigan University. There, she was a Faculty Spotlight Recipient, the inaugural Thank-A-Teacher Award recipient, and was featured in the historic exhibition In Her Shoes: Forging Paths at EMU. She was the first woman to direct the EMU Marching Band and, alongside Dr. Mary Schneider, formed the first all-female collegiate Director and Associate Director of Bands team in the nation.

Dr. Knopps earned degrees from The University of Georgia (DMA), the University of Kansas (MM), and the University of Missouri (BS, Ed.) where her principal conducting teachers were Dr. John P. Lynch and Dr. Dale J. Lonis. While at Georgia and Kansas she held conducting associate positions that involved conducting both concert and athletic bands as well as teaching courses in the music curriculum. During her time at The University of Georgia, Dr. Knopps earned the Hugh Hodgson School of Music Director’s Excellence Award and at the University of Kansas she earned the Russell L. Wiley Graduate Conducting Award.

Additional teaching experience includes numerous years as Director of Bands at Center High School and Center Middle School in her hometown of Kansas City, Missouri where she guided all aspects of the diverse and award-winning band program, as well as served as the Fine Arts Coordinator. While in the Center School District, she led a vibrant, award-winning program and was honored with the 2003 Missouri Fine Arts Outstanding Teacher Award and the 2004 You Make the Difference Award. In 2003, she solely commissioned and premiered Jonathan Newman’s 1861 for concert band, launching her long-standing commitment to supporting new and diverse wind band repertoire through commissions with Symphonic Band at Mizzou.

Dr. Knopps continues to be a very active conductor, clinician, and adjudicator across the United States and internationally having worked and performed throughout Asia, Australia, Canada, Europe, and South America. In 2025, she was named Associate Conductor of the Kansas City Wind Symphony after several years of serving as an honored guest conductor with this professional wind ensemble. For over a decade, she has served as a head clinician/instructor at the Smith-Walbridge Clinics held in Charleston, Illinois working with high school and collegiate drum majors from across the country. Her publications include articles in School Band and Orchestra Magazine, eight contributions to the Teaching Music Through Performance in Band series, and a feature in the 2023 book Women in Wind Band, a book that thoughtfully looks at why female-identifying band directors are still a minority in the field. She has also conducted significant research on American-sponsored overseas secondary band programs.

Dr. Knopps maintains professional affiliations with the College Band Directors National Association (CBDNA), currently serving as Chair of the CBDNA Athletic Bands Committee, the first woman to ever serve in this position, and as Missouri State Chair, World Association for Symphonic Bands and Ensembles (WASBE), the National Association for Music Education (NAfME), National Band Association (NBA), Missouri Women's Band Directors Association (MWBD), Phi Beta Mu, Tau Beta Sigma, Kappa Kappa Psi, currently serving as the sponsor for the Eta Upsilon chapter, the Griffiths Leadership Society for Women, currently serving on the Executive Committee as Past Chair, and QEBH, the oldest of six secret honor societies at the University of Missouri when she was Honor Tapped in 2018.

In 2021, Dr. Knopps was named Associate Professor of the Year and earned a Purple Chalk Teaching Award from the College of Arts and Science. In 2022, Dr. Knopps was named to the 2022-2023 University of Missouri Provost Leadership Program Cohort. In 2023, Dr. Knopps earned a Distinguished Alumni Award from the College of Arts and Science, the Faculty and Alumni Award from the Mizzou Alumni Association, and was inducted into the Marching Mizzou Hall of Fame. In 2024, Dr. Knopps earned the William T. Kemper Fellowship for Teaching Excellence, the highest award offered at Mizzou. In 2025, she was inducted into the Lee’s Summit High School Hall of Fame, joining her brother, Anthony Knopps, and one of the first set of siblings to receive this honor. That same year, Dr. Knopps also joined Jupiter Band Instruments as an endorsed artist and educator, furthering her commitment to excellence in the collegiate marching arts.