Duncan Gray
November 15, 2000
Charlotte, NC -- Johnson C. Smith University's Professor Duncan Gray has been selected by the Central Intercollegiate Band Directors Conference as the 2000 CIAA Band Director of the Year.
Duncan Gray |
The Johnson C. Smith University quest for becoming the best in the CIAA began when they hired Professor Gray in 1986. He entered with a group of thirty members, known as the Dirty 30, some of the best players the CIAA had to offer. His numbers the following year increased to 50, and they where known as the Nifty 50. From then, the band has grown to become the powerhouse of the CIAA, known as the I.I.O.S.......the International Institution of SOUND...the band of the next 1000 years!
Last Saturday, Gray conducted a group of 153 selected bandsmen from eight CIAA schools during the CIAA Football Championship in Durham, NC. The All-CIAA Conference band performed the pre-game show.
This weekend Gray and the I.I.O.S. will be participating in Band Explosion 2000 which will showcase the premier high school marching bands the East Coast has to offer. The "Explosion" will also assist in band student recuitment and band scholarship support. The event will take place at Charlotte's Memorial Stadium on Sunday, November 19.
Gray presently serves on many distinguised committees and boards as well as a member of various professional organizations: Board member of the Tryon Center for Visual Arts; Board Member of the Community School of the Arts; Board Member and Chairman of the Diversity Committee of Symphony Orchestra; recently appointed by Governor James B. Hunt, Jr. to the Governor's Business Council on Arts and Humanities and President of the Intercollegiate Band Director's Conference. Professor Gray is the Principal Conductor of the TSOC Jass Orchestra. He is founder/executive director of the Summer High School Marching Band Camp and founder of the "Band Explosion".
Professor Gray received his formal education at Winston-Salem State University, North Carolina Central University, the University of North Carolina-Greensboro, University of Michigan, and the Interdenominational Theological center.
Professor Gray is also author and consultant of his series of articles of "Developing and Instrumental Music Program" and "Developing the Church Music Department".
Johnson C. Smith University is a member of the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA). The CIAA was founded in 1912 and is the second oldest African American athletic conferencein the United States. It is comprised of 12 historically black colleges and universities. This season the CIAA celebrates its 55th anniversary. The CIAA is home to the largest event in NCAA Division II athletics, and is the third largest tournament in college basketball at any level.