A special award of
The John Philip Sousa
Foundation
Brian Dell has been Director of Bands at H.B. Plant High School in Tampa, Florida since 2014. He came to Plant after having been Director of Bands at Gaither High School for the previous ten years. Prior to that, Brian also taught at Leon High School, Holy Comfort Episcopal School, and Fairview Middle School in Tallahassee since 1998.
He earned his Bachelor of Music in Music Education at Florida State University. He then went to Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, where he received his Master of Music in Wind Conducting and Percussion. Brian was a Graduate Teaching Assistant at LSU from August 2002 through June 2004.
The Plant Wind Ensemble has enjoyed national recognition through performances at CBDNA/NBA Southern Division Conference in 2022, Music For All National Festival as a Featured Ensemble in 2017, and Music For All Regional Festival in April 2022. The ensemble performed at WIBC in Seattle, Washington in November 2022.
He served a two-year term as the Chair of FBA District 7, comprised of 88 Hillsborough County Middle and High Schools, and he Chaired the FBA Music Commissioning Committee for six years. Mr. Dell is highly organized, dedicated to detail, and respected by his peers.
The Bandworld Legion of Honor was established in 1989 to honor, over the course of a year, eight of the finest band directors in our business.
Recipients have taught for at least fifteen years, have maintained a very high-quality concert band program, and have contributed significantly to the profession through dedication to bands and band music.
Each is honored at the annual Sousa Foundation awards ceremony during the Midwest Band Clinic in Chicago, Illinois.
Chairman of the Legion of Honor Committee is Terry Austin, Virginia Commonwealth University.
Here’s what Brian says about what factors were important in shaping his career. “Mentors. From high school, to my early days in Tallahassee, to graduate school at LSU, to the past 18 years in Tampa, I have been extremely fortunate to have mentors there to help me through this journey of the Band Director/Education profession. In addition to these mentors, I must thank my wife, Kristy (also a fellow band director), who has stuck by my side all of these years. My family for giving me the opportunity to be involved in music at a young age and at showing me the door for a future in music. Finally, my students; without our students, band directors do not exist. I have learned so much from my students over the years and they have made me better.“
Brian describes his philosophy as follows: “As teachers, our job is to engage our students in decision-making moments with the tools, the experiences, and with the content knowledge and wisdom that were once given to us. Further, we must cheerlead and support them towards success and enlightenment. Education is about the relationship that we establish within the classroom environment, our passion of music making and in the willingness to say to ourselves, “Every Student, Every Class, and Every Day.”
