He holds a PhD in conducting from the Birmingham Conservatoire/University of Central England and was made an Honorary Fellow (HonFBC) of that institution for his contributions to the Conservatoire and to musical life in the West Midlands of England. Dr. Hinton also holds an MM in conducting and a BM in education from Northwestern University. His principal teachers were Timothy Reynish, Guy Woolfenden, Don Owens, and John P. Paynter. Whilst in England, he was musical director and conductor of the Telford New Symphony Orchestra, as well as principal conductor of the Worcestershire Symphony Orchestra and the Nottingham Symphonic Wind Orchestra. Dr. Hinton has also published in the Journal of the World Association of Symphonic Bands and Ensembles.