__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 Bachelors and Masters in Early Childhood Education. Bobby has many years of marching experience with several groups. He started his colorguard career marching with The Blue Devils "B" Drum Corp in 2000 and 2001. He attended Tracy High School and Lassiter High School where he participated in the fall and winter programs there. He then went on to march with the Santa Clara Vanguard Drum Corp from 2003-2005. He finished his drum corp career with The Cadets in 2006. Bobby spent several years marching various winterguards. He marched with Aspera Winterguard in 2005, The Pride of Cincinnati in 2006 and 2008, Phantom Regiment winterguard in 2007, and finished his last season with a Japanese winterguard called Aimachi in 2008. His teaching experience includes Wheeler High School in 2005 and Milton High School from 2008-2013. Bobby is currently on faculty of Dowell Elementary School.
ALLEN TRUONG: ASSISTANT COLOR GUARD INSTRUCTOR
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.
LAUREN SEGARS: ASSISTANT PERCUSSION INSTRUCTOR
JULIAN LEE: ELECTRONICS TECHNICIAN
Will Grimes: Assistant Visual/Woodwind Instructor
William Grimes is the Director of Bands at Cooper Middle School in Austell GA. Under his direction the Cooper band program has achieved a reputation of excellence in Concert, Jazz, and Chamber performance. Prior to Cooper Middle School, Mr. Grimes taught at Floyd Middle School and The High Meadows School.
Mr. Grimes is a graduate of The University of Georgia and a member of The National Band Directors Association, Phi Mu Alpha, The Technology Institute for Music Educators, and the Jazz Educators Network. Mr. Grimes lives in Marietta GA with his wife Sara, who is the Assistant Director of Orchestras at Walton High School, and their 2 year old son Charlie.
_Mr. Josh Rudolph is a native of Atlanta, Georgia. He
graduated from Alan C. Pope HighSchool
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 TheRevelli
Award, a national award given to a single graduating senior going on to pursuemusic
education as a career.
Mr.
Rudolph spent six years as Director of Bands at Carolina Forest High School.
Priorto
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 CarolinaYouth
Wind Symphony, an organization for advanced musicians of the greater GrandStrand
area. He has been selected for inclusion in the 2002 and 2004 editions of
"Who'sWho
Among American Teachers". The 2006 the Carolina Forest Symphonic Band wasselected
to perform for the South Carolina Governor's Inauguration.
Mr.
Rudolph has served as a guest clinician, conductor, and adjudicator in several
statesthroughout
the Southeast and also remains active as a trumpet player. His professionalaffiliations 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.
Fred Norton: Assistant Visual / Woodwind Instructor
Fred Norton is the Assistant Band Director at Hightower Trail Middle School. While at HTMS, the 8th Grade Symphonic Band has performed at the University of Georgia MidFest (2006, 2010, 2013), the University of Alabama MS Honor Band Festival (2014), the GMEA In-Service Conference (2008, 2012), the Music For All Southeast Regional Festival (2015), and the Music For All National Festival (2010). He has been awarded four Citations of Excellence from the National Band Association.
Mr. Norton received his Bachelor of Music in Music Education from the University of Georgia (2001), his Master of Music Education degree from Indiana University (2006), and his Education Specialist degree from UGA (2013). As an Associate Instructor and Course Coordinator at IU, he wrote curricula for four courses, including Woodwind Techniques.
A saxophonist, Mr. Norton has studied with Sam Skelton, Kenneth Fischer, Otis Murphy, and Tom Walsh. He has worked with numerous schools as a guest conductor, symphonic band instructor, marching band instructor, music judge, and private lesson instructor. As a member of the Cobb Wind Symphony, he has performed at UGA JanFest, the GMEA In-Service Conference, the CBDNA Southern Division Conference, the ASBDA/IET Conference, and the Midwest Clinic. Mr. Norton is a member of NAfME, GMEA, NBA, and Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia.
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.
