David C. Allison, Retired Director of Bands, earned a Master’s Degree in Music Performance from the University of South Carolina after undergraduate studies at Ithaca College and at the Eastman School of Music. He has taught in public schools, privately, and at the college level. He retired in June 2021 after his 17th year as the Director of Bands at Spring Valley High School and 28 years teaching in Richland 2.
As Director of Bands at Spring Valley High School, the Spring Valley Viking Bands consistently received numerous Superior ratings at various marching festivals and competitions. During his tenure, the Spring Valley Symphonic Band has earned Superior ratings in Grade VI class music literature each year at the South Carolina Band Directors’ Association (SCBDA) Concert Festivals. Under his direction, the Spring Valley Bands have annually earned the SCBDA Outstanding Performance Award. The Spring Valley Symphonic Band was the 2009 Grand National Champion of the All-Star Music Festival Season, and in 2011, the Spring Valley Symphonic Band was featured as the performing ensemble at The University of South Carolina Band Clinic and Conductors Symposium. In February of 2014, the Spring Valley Symphonic Band was featured in a performance at the SCMEA South Carolina Music Educators State Conference General Session, which was held at the Charleston Convention Center.
Students under Mr. Allison’s direction have earned seats in the South Carolina Band Directors Association’s Region Three Bands, All-State Bands, All-State Orchestra, All-State Jazz Band, Bands of America National Honor Band, MENC National Honor Band, and the BCS Bowl National Marching Band. His students have also participated in band clinics at the University of South Carolina, Winthrop University, Brevard, Interlochen, Ithaca College, Limestone University, Charleston Southern, Coastal Carolina University, and Furman University. Students under his direction have earned seats in the Richland Two District Orchestra and in the South Carolina Youth Philharmonic. Mr. Allison has had several students earn music scholarships and continue majoring in music performance and music education, and performing at the collegiate and professional levels.
Previously, Mr. Allison served as The Director of Bands at Summit Parkway for eighteen years. Under his direction, The Summit Parkway Bands earned superior ratings at SCBDA’s Concert Assessment Festival for 16 consecutive years. They have earned superior ratings at Carowinds,
the Orlando Festival of Music, the All-Star Music Festival in Orlando, FL, the All-American Festival in Orlando, the Grand National Adjudicators Invitational in Chattanooga, and the Dixie Classic Festival in Atlanta, GA. At Grand NAI, the ensemble received top honors among middle school bands in 2000, 2002, and 2005. Under his direction, The Summit Parkway Band was a featured performing group at the 2000 and 2008 SCMEA State Conference, the 2002 National MENC Conference in Nashville, and the 2002 MidWest International Band and Orchestra Clinic in Chicago.
Mr. Allison was named Teacher of the Year in 1998-1999 at Summit Parkway and Teacher of the Year at Spring Valley in 2016-2017. He was named in School Band & Orchestra magazine’s Fifty Teachers Who Make a Difference in 2001 and was awarded the Citation of Excellence by the National Bandmasters Association in 2001, 2002, 2007, 2011, and 2014. Mr. Allison has conducted numerous region and all-state band and orchestra clinics and has authored articles on trumpet pedagogy for publications, including the South Carolina Bandmaster and Phi Beta Mu. Mr. Allison was awarded the Outstanding Bandmaster Award from the Theta chapter of Phi Beta Mu, the international bandmasters fraternity.
As a trumpet player, Mr. Allison continues to perform in both the classical and commercial fields, in shows, recording sessions, clinics, and teaching. He has performed with many orchestras in New York, Kansas, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and Georgia. He is a founding member and solo trumpet of the Palmetto Brass and performs in the Dick Goodwin Big Band and the Palmetto Concert Band. Mr. Allison is Principal Trumpet Emeritus of the South Carolina Philharmonic after performing for 25 years as the Principal Trumpet. He has also appeared as a guest soloist with the Savannah Symphony, the South Carolina Philharmonic, the University of South Carolina Symphony, and the S.C. Chamber Orchestra. Mr. Allison has performed, and continues to perform, on several performance tours with many artists, including Chuck Mangione, Doc Severinsen, Aretha Franklin, The Temptations, Natalie Cole, The Drifters, The Four Tops, Ray Charles, Olivia Newton-John, and Dizzy Gillespie, to name a few. The Besson-Courtois Company has named Mr. Allison an Artist/Clinician for The Buffet Group Trumpets.
Mr. Allison has earned National Board Re-Certification in Early Adolescence through Young Adulthood/Music. He maintains professional affiliations with the SCBDA, NAFME, NBA, ITG, ASBDA, and Phi Beta Mu.