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Connor Challey is the Director of Athletic Bands at North Dakota State University, where he is entering his eighth year on faculty. After serving four years as the Assistant Director of Athletic Bands, he is now in his fourth year as Director. In addition to leading the athletic band program, he teaches applied lessons in tuba and euphonium, coaches brass chamber ensembles, and instructs a variety of music courses within the NDSU Challey School of Music.

Challey has performed as a regional soloist with the Lake Agassiz Wind Ensemble, the NDSU Wind Symphony, and the NDSU University Band. He actively commissions new works for the tuba, including Calibrating the Moon by NDSU composition faculty member Dr. Kyle Vanderburg. While in graduate school, he performed with the Colorado Symphony and participated in international educational outreach initiatives through programs affiliated with Blue Devils Performing Arts.

He holds a Bachelor of Music in Tuba Performance from the University of Miami and a Master of Music degree in Tuba Performance from Colorado State University. His principal teachers include Samuel Pilafian, Patrick Sheridan, Aaron Tindall, Stephen Dombrowski, and Velvet Brown.

Originally from California, Challey was active in a wide range of musical pursuits growing up. While living in the Bay Area, he taught private lessons in guitar, bass, and drum set, and performed in various rock, metal, and punk ensembles. He is the advisor for the Alpha Theta Chapter of Tau Beta Sigma at NDSU, a chartering member of the Beta Psi Chapter of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia at UCLA, and a Lifetime member of the International Tuba Euphonium Association. He currently resides in Fargo, North Dakota.