Barry Howard, a 19-year teacher of both middle and high school bands in the state of North Carolina, has been named Director of Athletic Bands at Belmont Abbey College.
Howard spent the first ten years of his career as the Associate Director of Bands at East Union Middle School and Forest Hills High School in Marshville, N.C. The bands at these two schools earned consistent “superior ratings” in both concert and marching competitions under his leadership. From 1999 until 2008, he served as the Director of Bands at Mount Tabor High School in Winston-Salem, helping the band achieve immediate success with high ratings, class placement awards, and several grand championships. Likewise, both the symphonic and concert bands earned a combined 11 superior ratings at the state festival during his nine-year tenure.
A member of the American School Band Directors Association (ASBDA), Howard has served as the District President and as the chairman for All-District Band Auditions for the Northwest NC District Bandmasters Association. Similarly, he was a charter member of the North Carolina Bandmasters Association’s (NCBA) Marching Band Committee which was responsible for the creation of the NCBA’s evaluation instrument for marching band. In addition, he has been honored to serve as a judge for both marching and concert band competitions and as a guest clinician for all-county band events in Caldwell, Catawba, Forsyth, Gaston, Mecklenburg, and Union Counties in North Carolina, and Carroll and Grayson Counties in Virginia.