Joni Mabry Brown received her Bachelor of Music Education degree from Western Carolina University and her Master’s in Music Education degree from the University of South Carolina.
She taught at T.C.Roberson High School in Skyland, North Carolina and at Gibbes Middle School in Columbia, South Carolina before taking her position at Bates Middle School in Sumter, South Carolina. The Bates Middle School band, under Mrs. Brown’s direction from 1981-2010, received consistent Superior ratings at the South Carolina Concert Festival. It received the Outstanding Performance Award given by the SCBDA for twenty-two consecutive years.
Mrs. Brown served on the founding committee of the Sumter Community Concert Band and served as Assistant Conductor for two years before being appointed as Conductor from 1984 to 1988. Mrs. Brown was chosen by the Bates Middle School faculty as Teacher of the Year in 1987 and was named the Teacher of the Year for Sumter School District 17 in 1996-97. She is a recipient of the ASBDA Stanbury Award (Junior Division), the Scroll of Excellence Award given by the Women Band Directors International Association, and the Citation of Excellence given by the National Band Association. She is a Past President of the Theta Chapter of Phi Beta Mu. Other professional affiliations include Music Educators National Conference, South Carolina Music Educators Association, National Band Association, and Women Band Directors International. She also plays clarinet in the Palmetto Concert Band and the Sumter Community Concert Band. She is an active adjudicator, clinician, and guest conductor throughout the Southeast. She currently serves as Director of Music Ministry at First Presbyterian Church in Sumter.