Gary D. Gribble has been the Director of Bands at Pope High School since 1987. Mr. Gribble earned his Associate Degree in Commercial Music and his BMuEd from Georgia State University. He earned the MA in Music from the University of Hawaii at Manoa. Mr. Gribble has served as an adjudicator, guest conductor, and clinician in Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Kentucky, Illinois, Tennessee, and Florida. Under his direction, the Pope HS Band has earned over 400 awards of excellence and has been a Bands of America Region champion, a regional finalist 19 times, and a Grand National semi-finalist twice. The Pope Band received the prestigious “Sudler Shield of Marching Excellence” from the John Philip Sousa Foundation. The band has marched in parades across the continental U.S., in Hawaii, and in London, England. The Pope Symphonic Bands have performed in state, regional, and national concert events, including four performances at the GMEA State Conference and four performances at the Bands of Ameirca National Concert Festival.
Mr. Gribble is a member of GMEA, NAfME, NBA, ITG, PAS, Tri-M Music Honor Society, ASBDA, and Phi Betu Mu Band Fraternity. He was cited in 1987 as an "Outstanding Young Man of America," was selected for inclusion in the 1989–1990 edition of "Who's Who in American Education," and was Pope's "STAR Teacher" in 1989–1990. Mr. Gribble was a 1994 ASBDA “Distinguished Director”. He has been named in “Who’s Who Among America’s Teachers twice. In 1996, Mr. Gribble choreographed a portion of the opening ceremonies for the Paralympic Games in Atlanta. Mr. Gribble has been awarded the National Band Association "Citation of Excellence" on four occasions. In 1999, Mr. Gribble was named a member of the Bandworld Legion of Honor. He was selected an “11-Alive Class Act” Teacher for 2000–2001. In May 2001, he was featured on the cover of “School Band and Orchestra Magazine.” In 2006, Mr. Gribble was nominated for the Disney Teacher of the Year Honors. Mr. Gribble has served as GMEA District 12 Band Chairman on two occasions and as the State Band Chairman for 2007–2008. In 2008, Mr. Gribble was named a “Claus Nobel Educator of Distinction” by the National Society of High School Scholars. In 2013, Mr. Gribble was inducted into the American School Band Directors Association. His articles have been published in "Fanfare", "Today's Music Educator", and the “Conn-Selmer Magazine”. Mr. Gribble has served on the Executive Board of the National Band Association since 2011. In 2015, Mr. Gribble was named a Conn-Selmer VIP and has written articles for their "Touchpoints" publication.
Mr. Gribble resides in Marietta with his wife Martha. They have two daughters, Megan (25) and Ashley (20).
Patrick Wright: Director of Marching/Visual Program
Patrick Wright has served as the Visual Coordinator at Alan C. Pope High School in Marietta, GA since 2007. His responsibilities include teaching marching technique and choreography to both the marching band and indoor drum line. Prior to coming to Pope, Patrick worked with high school bands in Gwinnett and Hall Counties. He was also a member of the DCI finalist Spirit of Atlanta Drum and Bugle Corps for three years (’01, ’02, ’04). He received his bachelor's degree in Music Education from Georgia State University and will complete his master's at the University of Hawaii in May 2016. He currently teaches music with Paula Williams at High Meadows School in Roswell, GA. He lives in Powder Springs, GA with his wife Autumn, 4 year-old son Ryan, and 2 year-old daughter Brooklyn.
Bobby Jones: Head Color Guard Instructor
Bobby Jones graduated from Kennesaw State University with a Bachelor’s and Master’s in Early Childhood Education. He also received his Specialist Degree in Early Childhood Education from the University of West Georgia. Bobby has many years of marching experience with several groups. He started his colorguard career marching with The Blue Devils "B" Drum Corp. He attended Tracy and Lassiter High School where he participated in the fall and winter programs. He then went on to march with the Santa Clara Vanguard Drum Corp for three years, and finished his drum corps career with The Cadets. Bobby spent several years marching various winterguards. He marched with Aspera, The Pride of Cincinnati, Phantom Regiment, and Aimachi. His teaching experience includes Wheeler and Milton High School. Bobby is currently on faculty at an elementary school in Cobb County.
CHRISTINE OSBORNE: ASSISTANT COLOR GUARD INSTRUCTOR
Nich Gannon: Assistant Percussion Instructor
Nich Gannon is an active freelance percussionist and private teacher in the Atlanta area. Prior to coming to Pope High School, Nich served as Percussion Tech at Fannin County High School in Blue Ridge, Ga.
Nich received his Bachelor of Arts in Music from Young Harris College. During his time in college, Nich also attended Georgia State University and studied under Stuart Gerber. As a student, Nich has studied and attended masterclasses with Jack Bell, Arthur Lipner, Ted Wade, and Justin Varnes.
Nich spent two years marching drum corps with the DCA group, Atlanta CV (2012–2013). He has also appeared as a guest artist with the Fannin County High School Percussion Ensemble, and was a featured performer with the Young Harris College Wind Ensemble. Nich is a member of PAS, NafME and the Vic Firth Education Team. He plans to attend Georgia State University in the Fall 2016 to begin work on his Master's in Jazz Studies.
Mr. Josh Rudolph is a native of Atlanta, Georgia. He graduated from Alan C. Pope High School and went on to earn a Bachelors of Music degree from the University of South Carolina. As a senior in High School, Mr. Rudolph was the inaugural recipient of The Revelli Award, a national award given to a single graduating senior going on to pursue music education as a career.
Mr. Rudolph spent six years as Director of Bands at Carolina Forest High School. Prior to that, he was the Director of Middle School Bands at Carolina Forest for two years. While in Myrtle Beach, Mr. Rudolph was the founder and conductor of the Carolina Youth Wind Symphony, an organization for advanced musicians of the greater Grand Strand area. He has been selected for inclusion in the 2002 and 2004 editions of "Who's Who Among American Teachers". The 2006 the Carolina Forest Symphonic Band was selected to perform for the South Carolina Governor's Inauguration.
Mr. Rudolph has served as a guest clinician, conductor, and adjudicator in several states throughout the Southeast and also remains active as a trumpet player. His professional affiliations include GMEA, MENC, Kappa Kappa Psi, and NBA.
Paula Williams has been the Percussion Director at Alan C. Pope High School since 2002. She has also been the Music Director at High Meadows School in Roswell, GA. since 2005. She holds a Master of Science with honors in Education Media Design and Technology from Full Sail University, and a Bachelor of Music in Education and Percussion Performance from Georgia State University. Professional Memberships include PAS, GMEA, NAfME, AFM, AOSA, ISTE, and AATE.
As a student, Paula was fortunate enough to study percussion and timpani with Jack Bell, Mark Yancich, and Cloyd Duff. She performed with regional orchestras, and was an extra on multiple occasions with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. As an arranging and composition student of Robert W. Smith’s, she generated several publications for Warner Brothers Music.
Paula spent 15 years in the drum corps activity, first as a member, then as an educator. She has 10 years of experience in the WGI indoor percussion activity, culminating in 2006 with Pope’s bronze medal placement in the Scholastic Open Class at World Championships. Her private students consistently rank as principal players in District bands and All-State bands, Governor’s Honors, community honor ensembles, and several have gone on to study percussion at major conservatories. Paula has taught band and percussion in the Atlanta area and the southeast for 26 years.
ROBERT GROGAN:
Casey Baker: Assistant Visual/Brass Instructor
Casey Baker is the Director of Bands at Floyd Middle School in Mableton, GA. Prior to Floyd; Ms. Baker was the Assistant Director of Bands at Osborne High School and worked with Hillgrove High School, Columbus High School, and Pope High School.
Ms. Baker is a Cobb County native and graduated from Alan C. Pope High School. She is a graduate of Columbus State University, and will complete her Masters of Music Education from the University of Florida in May of 2016. Her professional affiliations include the National Association for Music Education, the Georgia Music Educators Association, and a serving as a charter member in Sigma Alpha Iota- Lambda Sigma chapter. She continues to serve as a clinician, judge, and instructor throughout the state. Ms. Baker was also a member of Spirit of Atlanta for three years, serving as the trumpet section leader in the 2010 season.
Ravan Durr: Jazz Band Director
Ravan Irving Durr was born and raised in Marietta Georgia. He graduated from Marietta High School in 1976 and went on to earn a Bachelor of Science in Music Education degree from Jacksonville State University and the Master of Music from University of Georgia. Mr. Durr retired from the Cobb School System after 24 years of service. He is an active musician performing and teaching throughout the Metro-Atlanta area. He has produced and performed on three CDs under his own name. Mr. Durr and his family are members of Piedmont Church in Marietta where he serves in the music ministry.
Bernard H. Flythe joined the faculty at Kennesaw State University in 2007. Prior to his appointment at KSU, Mr. Flythe served for three years as the assistant professor of tuba and euphonium at Austin Peay State University and served four years on the artist faculty at the Sewanee Summer Music Festival. He also served on the faculties of Emory University, the University of Georgia, the University of Toledo, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the University of Michigan All State Program at Interlochen, the University of Michigan Summer Arts Institute, and the UNC-Greensboro Summer Music Camp.
Mr. Flythe has performed with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, and the Nashville Symphony. During the 1992–1993 season, he served as the acting principal tubist with the North Carolina Symphony. As a chamber musician, Mr. Flythe has performed with the Detroit Chamber Winds, the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Brass Quintet, and the North Carolina Symphony Brass Quintet.
Mr. Flythe received a bachelor of music degree from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. He earned his master of music and his specialist in music degrees from the University of Michigan. Mr. Flythe's principal tuba teachers include Fritz Kaenzig, Robert Leblanc, David Lewis, Wesley Jacobs, and Michael Sanders.
