DOUGLAS
AKEY
Douglas
Akey began his musical training in the public schools
of
Elmhurst,
Illinois.
He attended
Arizona
State
University
on a
performance scholarship, earning a Bachelor of Music
degree in Instrumental Music (1979) and a Master of
Music in Solo Performance (1985). He also studied
brass performance for two summers at the Banff Centre
for the Performing Arts in
Alberta
,
Canada
. He has
studied horn with Carroll Simmons – Grant Park
Orchestra (Chicago), William Strickland – free-lance
hornist (New
York),
Ralph Lockwood –
Arizona
State
University
, and
Roland Pandolfi – Principal Horn, St. Louis Symphony.
Since
1987, Mr. Akey has been Director of Bands and
Music/Drama Department Chairperson at
Hendrix
Junior
High School
in
Chandler
,
Arizona
. He has
been teaching junior high school band in the
Phoenix
area since
1979. His bands have been invited to perform at
numerous education conferences, including the 1994
Midwest International Band and Orchestra Clinic and
the 1998 Music Educators National Conference. He is in
demand as a clinician, having directed many junior
high and high school honor bands throughout the
country. He has also presented sessions at music
conventions in
Arizona
,
Colorado
,
Ohio
and
Wyoming
.
In 1985,
Mr. Akey received the Stanbury Award of the American
School Band Directors Association as the outstanding
young junior high school band director in the
United
States
. Since
that time, he has gone on to become recognized as an
accomplished composer of school band music. His works
have appeared on dozens of state contest lists and are
performed by bands throughout
North
America
,
Europe
,
Australia
and the
Far East
. In 1996,
he was honored as the National Federation of Secondary
Schools Music Educator of the Year for Section 7 (
Arizona
,
California
,
Hawaii
,
Nevada
and
Utah
).
Mr. Akey
is an active performer, having played with the Del Sol
Brass Quintet and Arizona Brass Quintet, as well as
the
Phoenix
and Tucson
Symphony Orchestras. He currently serves as principal
horn with the Tempe Symphony Orchestra.