Coker College Hosts 2015 All-County Music Festival
March 4, 2015
HARTSVILLE, SC – Coker College’s Music Program is hosting the 2015 All-County Music Festival on Tuesday, March 10.
This event will see over 150 middle and high school intermediate/advanced music students and their music teachers from the Darlington County School District descending upon the Elizabeth Boatwright Coker Performing Arts Center and Coker College for a day of clinics with guest clinicians for chorus and band/strings. The day will culminate in a public performance that evening at 6:00 pm in the Watson Theater.
“We will celebrate the extraordinary musical talent being cultivated right here in Darlington County,” says Serena Hill-LaRoche, assistant professor of music and site coordinator of the event. “These young musicians will have the opportunity to work with vibrant and innovative guest clinicians who are passionate about music education in our schools. The Coker College campus and Elizabeth Boatwright Performing Arts Center are the perfect backdrop and the ideal environment for these gifted students to be inspired and challenged.”
“The purpose of the All-County Music Festival is to broaden the music education of Darlington County students and to provide opportunities for more advanced training in instrumental and vocal music through clinical study and performance,” says Marisa Johnson, Arts and Innovative Programs Coordinator for the Darlington County School District. “This annual festival will give our students a chance to receive in-depth music instruction from guest clinicians who are experts in their chosen music field. There were 158 middle and high school students nominated by school music instructors based on their musical knowledge, showmanship, and overall talent in the field. Music programs in our schools play an important role in the lives of students. It gives our students an opportunity to explore multiple skill sets. This festival highlighting our talented students will be a proud event for the Darlington County School System and we are so very thankful to Coker College for hosting and increasing their partnership with our district and students.”
Guest clinicians for the event are Mr. David W. Carter, Jr. and Coker Singers conductor Mr. Dustin Ousley. Participating young musicians will include students from Darlington Middle, Hartsville Middle, Hartsville High, Mayo High, Rosenwald Middle, and Spaulding Middle Schools.
The guest clinicians biographies
David W. Carter, Jr., a native of Charleston, SC, holds a Bachelor of Music Education from the University of South Carolina and a Master of Music Education degree with a focus in Jazz Studies from the University of Southern Mississippi. Currently, David is pursuing a Ph.D. in Music Education with a focus in Conducting also from the University of Southern Mississippi. At the University of Southern Mississippi, David served as a graduate assistant for both the university bands and jazz bands. As a graduate assistant for the jazz bands, he worked with Director of Jazz Studies, Mr. Larry Panella, directing the Jazz Lab Band II, coaching various jazz combos, performing in both the Jazz Lab I and the USM Jazz Sextet, and lecturing for jazz improvisation classes. His duties for the university bands included working with the marching band, the “Pride of Mississippi,” the concert ensembles, and guest lecturing for undergraduate conducting and music education classes. Mr. Carter’s professional affiliations include the National Band Association (NBA), The National Association for Music Education (NAfME), South Carolina Teaching Fellows, The South Carolina Band Directors Association (SCBDA), Kappa Kappa Psi National Honorary Band Fraternity, The International Trumpet Guild (ITG) and The Jazz Education Network (JEN). David currently serves as Director of Bands at Cane Bay High School located in the beautiful low country of Summerville, South Carolina. Under his direction, his students and bands have earned numerous Superior ratings at various competitions and festivals. He also serves as a brass instructor with the Coastal Surge Drum and Bugle Corps.
Dustin Ousley currently teaches conducting and music education methods at Coker College where he is also the director of the Coker Singers. For seven years, Dustin was the choral director at Fred T. Foard High School in Newton, North Carolina. He received a Bachelor of Arts in music from Furman University in 2003 where he was mentored by the recently retired Dr. Bing Vick. He received a master’s degree in Choral Conducting from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro in 2005. Dustin has previously served as the director of the Catawba Valley Community Chorus in Conover, North Carolina (2006-2010) and as the music director of several musicals at Community Theatre of Greensboro, Weaver Academy, Lexington Youth Theatre, and Hickory Community Theatre. He has also been very active in community theatre throughout his musical career having played roles in over 40 musicals with the South Carolina Children’s Theatre, Greenville Little Theatre, Hickory Community Theatre, the Green Room, UNCG Opera Theatre, Greensboro Opera Company, and Creative Arts Shoestring Theatre over the past 15 years. Dustin is currently a full-time student in the doctoral music program at the University of South Carolina in the area of choral conducting. At USC, he teachers music theory, aural skills, and is the director of the Women’s Chorus. Dustin will complete requirements for the doctoral degree this spring.
Release written by assistant professor of music Serena Hill LaRoche.
Coker College
Coker College readies undergraduates for personal and professional success through a distinctive four-year program that emphasizes a practical application of the liberal arts as well as hands-on and discussion-based learning within and beyond the classroom. Coker is ranked among the “Best Colleges” in the South by U.S. News & World Report as well as The Princeton Review. Located in Hartsville, S.C., Coker is within two hours of the cultural, financial and recreational resources of Charlotte, Columbia, Charleston and Myrtle Beach.
