Dr. Charles Alan Conaway graduated in 1980 from Jacksonville State University with both a Bachelor of Arts degree in music performance and a Bachelor of Science degree in music education, with a double major, and Special Honors in English. He completed a Master of Arts degree in School Administration from the University of Alabama, with master’s level certification in music from Vandercook Conservatory of Chicago in 1982. In 1989, he graduated from Jacksonville State University with an Educational Specialist degree in School Administration and AA certification in music from Vandercook Conservatory and the University of Montevallo. He completed his formal education in 1996, with an Educational Doctorate in school administration from the University of Alabama.
Dr. Conaway taught for 32 years in a variety of public and private schools in Alabama and Georgia, teaching in the areas of music, English, literature, poetry, and working as a school administrator. He had the honor of starting band programs at the Donoho School in 1982, and at Moody High School in 1984. He was most recently the band director at Alexandria High from 1998 until he retired in 2012. While at Alexandria, his bands received over 320 awards in both marching and concert band competitions throughout the southeast, including superior ratings at District II Competition 9 times, and superior ratings at ABA State Concert Competition 7 times. His students also excelled at Alabama All-State and Solo and Ensemble Festivals, as well as attending College Honor Bands across the southeast.
After retirement, he has remained musically active as a church choir director, band camp instructor, and works with community bands and other musical organizations. He and his wife Tawana have two daughters, Alaina Conaway and Amber Conaway Quillin.
Dr. Conaway taught for 32 years in a variety of public and private schools in Alabama and Georgia, teaching in the areas of music, English, literature, poetry, and working as a school administrator. He had the honor of starting band programs at the Donoho School in 1982, and at Moody High School in 1984. He was most recently the band director at Alexandria High from 1998 until he retired in 2012. While at Alexandria, his bands received over 320 awards in both marching and concert band competitions throughout the southeast, including superior ratings at District II Competition 9 times, and superior ratings at ABA State Concert Competition 7 times. His students also excelled at Alabama All-State and Solo and Ensemble Festivals, as well as attending College Honor Bands across the southeast.
After retirement, he has remained musically active as a church choir director, band camp instructor, and works with community bands and other musical organizations. He and his wife Tawana have two daughters, Alaina Conaway and Amber Conaway Quillin.
Peachtree City native Lisa Gillespie began studying percussion while performing with the Atlanta Symphony Youth Orchestra. Ms. Gillespie studied music performance and education at Georgia State University, the University of Georgia, and she completed her Bachelor of Art and Master of Art in music education at Jacksonville State University. Currently Ms. Gillespie is the band, choral and general music teacher for Kitty Stone Elementary School and freelances with the Alabama, Gadsden, and Rome Symphonies. She actively toured with Chix with Stix percussion group educating and entertaining audiences throughout the southeast. She is a member of MENC, the Alabama Bandmasters Association, the Orff-Schulwerk Association, and the National Education Association. Ms. Gillespie was awarded “Teacher of the Year” by the Jacksonville City School System in 2011, and she is endorsed by “Innovative Percussion, Inc.”
Dr. Doug Gordon joined the JSU faculty in August 2008 as associate professor of music theory. He holds the Bachelor of Science in Education and the Master of Arts degrees from Jacksonville State University and the Doctor of Philosophy in Music Theory from the Florida State University. A native of northwest Georgia, Dr. Gordon is a former band director in the Catoosa county and Whitfield county schools. From 1992 until 2008 he was coordinator of basic musicianship studies at Mars Hill College in Mars Hill, North Carolina.
Dr. Gordon's professional interests lie in the areas of theory pedagogy, the use of technology in the classroom, and in the perception and cognition of music. His dissertation, Harmonic Progression to the Dominant: An Experiment in Aural Perception, explored the nature of trained musicians’ recognition of and preferences for pre-dominant harmonies. He has been selected by the Educational Testing Service/College Board as a reader for the Advanced Placement Music Theory examination. Dr. Gordon regularly presents clinics and workshops on computer applications in music and has trained hundreds of professionals in the use of technology in the music classroom. His interest in music software led to his work for Alfred Publications in the development of Essentials of Music Theory and with Sibelius in the production of Sibelius 4. He often serves as an adjudicator at band events and has conducted honor bands across the southeastern United States. He is active as a free-lance trombonist and has performed with the Asheville, NC Symphony Orchestra, the Brevard, NC Chamber Orchestra, the Smoky Mountain Brass Band, the Appalachian Brass Quintet, and the Roman Festival Brass.
Dr. Gordon's professional interests lie in the areas of theory pedagogy, the use of technology in the classroom, and in the perception and cognition of music. His dissertation, Harmonic Progression to the Dominant: An Experiment in Aural Perception, explored the nature of trained musicians’ recognition of and preferences for pre-dominant harmonies. He has been selected by the Educational Testing Service/College Board as a reader for the Advanced Placement Music Theory examination. Dr. Gordon regularly presents clinics and workshops on computer applications in music and has trained hundreds of professionals in the use of technology in the music classroom. His interest in music software led to his work for Alfred Publications in the development of Essentials of Music Theory and with Sibelius in the production of Sibelius 4. He often serves as an adjudicator at band events and has conducted honor bands across the southeastern United States. He is active as a free-lance trombonist and has performed with the Asheville, NC Symphony Orchestra, the Brevard, NC Chamber Orchestra, the Smoky Mountain Brass Band, the Appalachian Brass Quintet, and the Roman Festival Brass.