Don Snowden’s musical versatility has served the Northwest Florida area well for many years.  With a myriad of responsibilities as a conductor, trombonist, administrator and educator, Snowden has developed outstanding programs at all levels of the musical spectrum.

 

He is currently Department Head, Director of Bands, and Assistant Professor at Pensacola Junior College. He received a Bachelor's of Music Education degree from Livingston University (now the University of West Alabama) in 1977 and a Master's of Music Education degree from the University of Southern Mississippi in 1981. Snowden also studied at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York. He taught several years at Foley High School in Foley, Ala. where his concert and marching bands earned a national reputation for excellence. In 1985, he was the recipient of the National Band Association's "Citation of Excellence," for inspiring and motivating excellence in musical performance.

 

During Snowden's 19 years as PJC Director of Bands, his concert bands have grown in size and quality. His jazz ensembles have been rated with superiors throughout the South, and have performed with several world renown jazz artists including Carl Fontana, Slide Hampton, Bobby Shew, Gary Foster, Bill Prince, Chris Vadala and Rich Matteson. In 1993, the PJC Jazz Ensemble performed in famed Carnegie Hall in New York City to an enthusiastic audience.

 

As director of the Pensacola Civic Band, Snowden has built the band from a group of 50 players to its current size of more than 80 players. Civic Band concert audiences have grown to 600-800 people at the three subscription concerts held at the historic Saenger Theatre and to over 12,000 people at the two outdoor park concerts held in the gazebo of Seville Square in the historic district in downtown Pensacola. The Civic Band was chosen to perform at four national conventions of the Association of Concert Bands, and hosted the convention in 2001 and 2007. In 2001, he was elected to serve on the Board of Directors of the Association of Concert Bands and in 2004 he was elected and is currently serving as ACB President.

 

In 2002, the Civic Band was selected as the recipient of the Sudler Silver Scroll Award, presented by the John Philip Sousa Foundation. The purpose of the Sudler Silver Scroll Award is to identify, recognize, and honor those community bands that have demonstrated particularly high standards of excellence in concert activities over a period of several years, and which have played a significant and leading role, year after year, in the cultural and musical environment of their local communities.

 

He is a two-time winner of the Arts Council of Northwest Florida's Muriel Shugart Award for his work at PJC and the Civic Band. . He is very active as a guest conductor and adjudicator throughout the Southeastern United States. He serves as the Music Division Representative of the Florida Community College Activities Association representing the music programs of the 28 community colleges in Florida.  He also serves on the board of the Choral Society of Pensacola and Bravo for Kids, an organization that raises money for musical instruments for under served schools and students.

 

Snowden is an active performer, holding the second trombone position in the Pensacola Symphony Orchestra since 1979 and is the leader of the Pensacola Big Band All Stars with Holly Shelton.  He is a member of a professional brass group, Perdido Brass that performs in Northwest Florida/Southwest Alabama area. He is an active musical theatre conductor, conducting many productions including "West Side Story," "Hello, Dolly!" "The Secret Garden," "Gypsy," "Into the Woods," and “Les Miserables.”  The 2006-2007 season has him conducting “Singing in the Rain,” “South Pacific,” “Thoroughly Modern Millie,” “Broadway ala  Carte 2007,” and “Disney’s the Beauty and the Beast”  He has contracted orchestras for Pensacola area performances of Harry Connick Jr., Jim Nabors, Roger Williams, the Mills Brothers and national tours of "A Chorus Line," and "Annie." He has served as guest conductor of the Pensacola Symphony Orchestra in programs with Broadway ala Carte, rock legend Johnny Rivers, and entertainer Lou Rawls.

 

An avid golfer and gourmet cook, Snowden has two children, Matthew and Ashleigh. He is married to vocalist-actress Holly Shelton and served as her executive producer on one of her most popular CD’s, "Deep Purple."

You may contact Mr. Snowden at 850-484-1800 or dsnowden@pjc.edu