Complex sentence: He served as Head of the Department of Music at the University of Connecticut from 2005 to 2008; prior to that, he served as Director of the School of Music at the University of Oklahoma from 1998 to 2005.
Split into simpler sentences: He served as Head of the Department of Music at the University of Connecticut from 2005 to 2008. Prior to this, he served as Director of the School of Music at the University of Oklahoma from 1998 to 2005.