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BIO - DAVID STARNES
Director of Bands
Mr. David Starnes,
a native of Chattanooga, Tennessee, received his Bachelors of Science degree
with honors, from The University of Tennessee, Knoxville in 1988. He joined the
music faculty at Kennesaw Mountain High School in February of 2000 and where he
serves as the Director of Bands. In the brief history of Kennesaw Mountain High
School, his bands have received all superior ratings in concert festival and
marching band performances. Kennesaw Mountain High School Marching Band is a
consistent finalist at Bands of America Regional events, winning the Grand
Champion Award at the 2002 BOA Johnson City Regional and placing 7th
in the 2002 Grand National Championships in Indianapolis, Indiana. The Kennesaw
Mountain High School Marching Band was awarded the Sudler Shield from the John
Philip Sousa Foundation in December of 2002.
In his 15 years of
teaching, he has served as the Associate Director of Bands at Dunwoody High
School, the Director of Bands at McCleskey Middle School, Hightower Trail Middle
School, and the Associate Director of Bands and Director of Percussion Studies
at Pope High School, all in the state of Georgia. Under his direction, his band
and percussion ensembles have consistently received high recognition as some of
the finest in the United States. The Pope High School Symphonic II Band
performed at the 1998 inaugural Bands of America Regional Concert Band Festival
held in Atlanta. His bands have consistently attended G.M.E.A. band festivals
for the last 13 years. Mr. Starnes is active as a guest clinician and conductor
for symphonic bands. He is sought after as a music arranger and adjudicator for
symphonic bands and percussion ensembles throughout the United States and
Canada.
In 1999, the Pope High
School Percussion Ensemble appeared at the Percussive Arts Society International
Convention in Columbus, Ohio, where they performed with P.A.S. Hall of Fame
member, Mr. Bob Becker. They were selected as the winner for the International
“Call For Tapes” contest and won the right to perform in the Showcase Concert at
this Convention. As well, this ensemble performed at such prestigious
conventions as the 52nd Annual Midwest Band and Orchestra Clinic in Chicago with
Grammy Award winner, Paul Wertico, from the Pat Metheny Group, as a guest drum
set artist. In 1998 the ensemble performed at the Bands of America National
Concert Band Festival in Indianapolis as a part of the Percussion Festival.
He has been affiliated in judging with such organizations
as Bands of America, Drum Corps International, where he served as the Percussion
and Caption Head from 1998-2002, Winter Guard International, The Southeastern
Color Guard Circuit, the Indiana State School Music Association, and the
Michigan Competing Bands Association. Currently, he serves as a member of the
Bands of America Advisory Board and acts as a judge liaison to high school band
directors who participate in the Bands of America activity. He is an educational
clinician for Innovative Percussion and is a Yamaha clinician/educator. He
served as the Georgia Chapter President for the Percussive Arts Society from
1998-2000. His professional memberships include Music Educators National
Conference, The Percussive Arts Society, Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia, and The Georgia
Music Educators Association. As well, he was recently added in the 1997 edition
of Who’s Who Among American Teachers Listing.
Mr. Starnes has been
involved in the drum and bugle corps activity for over 16 years. He performed
with Star of Indiana Drum and Bugle Corps in 1986 and served as a program
coordinator and percussion and caption head for Southwind Drum and Bugle Corps
from 1990-1993, winning back-to-back DCI Division II Championships and High
Percussion Awards in 1991 and 1992. He currently serves as the Program
Coordinator for Spirit Drum and Bugle Corps from Jacksonville, Alabama.
Mr. Starnes and his wife,
Rhea Jeanne are residents of Kennesaw, Georgia. Mr. Starnes has an
eight-year-old daughter, Hannah, who attends elementary school in Cobb County.
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