David Giddens
Wagner HS San Antonio, TX / Chattanooga Independent - United States
Overview
David Giddens, a native of Fitzgerald Georgia, currently resides in San Antonio, Texas where he serves as Associate Director of Bands and Percussion Specialist at Karen Wagner High School in Converse, Texas. He coordinates the percussion curriculum and activates for the two cluster middle school programs as well as teaches beginning percussion methods. Mr. Giddens completed his undergraduate work as a scholarship student at Jacksonville State University in Jacksonville Alabama and his graduate work at Lee University in Cleveland, Tennessee. While at JSU, he studied percussion with Mr. G. Tracy Tyler and Clint Gillespie and was a member of the nationally famed Marching Southerners Percussion Section. In 1995 and 1996, he served as Student Marching Percussion Coordinator where he managed, arranged and designed the outdoor field show, the indoor PAS show as well as helped coordinate the band's performance at the 1996 Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City. He was principle percussionist with the JSU Wind Ensemble for two years and also participated in the Percussion Ensemble for eight consecutive semesters. While completing his undergraduate studies, Mr. Giddens performed clinics and arranged for over 35 band programs throughout the southeast, as well as coached many students in solo and ensemble, all-County, all-District and all-State participation. In the summer of 2006, he completed his graduate work and teaching certification at Lee University, where he studied Conducting with Dr. Stephen Plate and Arranging with Dr. David L. Holsinger.
Most recently, Mr. Giddens served as Assistant Band Director and Coordinator of Percussion Education for the Winter Guard International Class A Finalist Centennial High School Drum line from Roswell, Georgia. Prior to his Centennial appointment, he served as the Percussion Specialist for both the Ooltewah High School and Cleveland High School Band programs.
Mr. Giddens performed with the Spirit of Atlanta Drum and Bugle Corps in the summers of 1991 and 1993. In 1994, he traveled and competed with the Blue Knights Drum and Bugle Corps from Denver Colorado where he had the opportunity to study with DCI Hall of Fame member Ralph Hardimon and perform as a member with the two-time DCI and PAS Snare drum champion Jeff Queen. As a snare drum soloist at DCI that summer, he finished 11th in the Individual and Ensemble Competition.
Mr. Giddens is very involved in the Winter Percussion and Winter Guard community. As a percussion designer, instructor and performer, groups that he has been involved with have consistently medaled at the Championships of the Southeastern Color Guard Circuit and the Southern Association or Performing Arts. Many of these have gone on to make finals at the Winter Guard International World Championships, totaling 8 times, including a World Class Championship in 1995 as a performer with the Atlanta Rhythm Machine. Over the years, Mr. Giddens has been on the instructional and design teams of finalist groups such as Music City Mystique, Velocity, Chattanooga Independent and Kennesaw Mountain High School.
Mr. Giddens has sat on the Board of Directors of both the Southeastern Color Guard Circuit and the Southern Association of Performing Arts. He is an Ensemble Analysis judge with the Gulf Coast Judging Association, a member of the Percussive Arts Society, the Georgia Music Educators Association, the Texas Music Educators Association, and the Texas Bandmasters Association and is a member of the Junior Chamber of Commerce. Additionally, Mr. Giddens is an Educational Artist for Pearl Drums/Adams Musical Instruments, Innovative Percussion and Evans Drumheads.
In his free time, he enjoys college football and recently has become a San Antonio Spurs fan.