| Mr. Travis Coakley - Fine & Performing Arts Director / Director of Bands |
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 Mr. Coakley has been the Director of Bands for the Biloxi Public School District and Department Chair for the Performing Arts at Biloxi High School since 2011. Beginning in 2015 he assumed the position of Director of Fine & Performing Arts for Biloxi Public Schools. In that time, the Biloxi Band has consistently received the highest ratings for marching band & concert band performances and the Biloxi School District has been nationally recognized for its commitment to the Arts.
Mr. Coakley directs the 270-member Biloxi High School marching band and conducts the award-winning Biloxi Wind Ensemble. He is currently serving on the Executive Board of the American School Band Directors Association as National Treasurer, the Executive Board and as the Citations Committee Chairman for the National Band Association, a contributing staff member for the Phi Beta Mu national newsletter, and as Past-President of the Gulf Coast Band Directors Association. Mr. Coakley is also an Executive Board member of the Mississippi Alliance for Arts Education which works to bring a quality arts education to all K-12 students in the State of Mississippi.
Mr. Coakley was named the "Thad Cochran Distinguished Arts Educator for Music" in the state of Mississippi (2013), the Biloxi Bay Chamber of Commerce Secondary Teacher of the Year (2013-2014), Biloxi Public School District Teacher of the Year (2013-2014), Biloxi High School Teacher of the Year (2013-2014), the Gulf Coast Band Directors Association High School Band Director of the Year (2013-2014), and one of SBO's 50 "Directors Who Make a Difference" in 2014. Mr. Coakley was named STAR Teacher at Biloxi High School in 2018 and in 2019 received the AIM Award from the Arts Institute of Mississippi for exemplary teaching and professional contributions in education in Mississippi.
Biloxi High School is an annual recipient of the Mississippi Bandmasters Association Sweepstakes Award, was named a GRAMMY Signature School Semi-Finalist for the 2013-2014 and 2014-2015 school years, and in 2015 was named by the Mississippi Alliance for Arts Education as its "School of Excellence" for making arts an essential part of education. The Biloxi Public School District was named by the NAMM Foundation as one of the "Best Communities for Music Education" in 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018 & 2019 and received the SupportMusic Merit Award by the NAMM Foundation in 2015.
The Biloxi High School marching band has recently performed in the Macy's Holiday Parade at Universal Studios in Orlando, FL, the National Cherry Blossom Festival Parade in Washington, D.C., the 6ABC Dunkin Donuts Thanksgiving Day Parade in Philadelphia, PA, and was a State Championship finalist in 2017.
The Biloxi Wind Ensemble has performed at the William Carey University Honor Band Clinic, the Music For All Concert Band Regional in Lafayette, LA, and Festival Disney at Walt Disney World in Orlando, FL. In 2014 the Wind Ensemble was named a National Commended Award winner by the Foundation for Music Education "Mark of Excellence" project. In 2019, the Biloxi Wind Ensemble performed at the University of Alabama Honor Band Festival and will perform at the ASBDA National Convention in St. Augustine, Florida in 2020.
Mr. Coakley is a graduate of the University of Southern Mississippi (Bachelor of Music Education, 1999, Master of Music Education, 2002). His professional memberships include Phi Beta Mu (PBM), the American School Band Directors Association (ASBDA), National Band Association (NBA), National Association for Music Education (NAfME), Mississippi Bandmasters Association (MBA), Mississippi Music Educators Association (MMEA), Gulf Coast Band Directors Association (GCBDA) and the International Trombone Association (ITA). |
| Email: travis.coakley@biloxischools.net |
