Ringgold High School Director of Bands

Tracy D. Wright is in his eighth year as the Director of Bands at Ringgold High School. For the previous 23 years he served as the Director of Bands at Ringgold Middle School and Assistant Director Ringgold High School Marching Tiger Band. At RHS, Mr. Wright directs various ensembles including the Wind Ensemble, the Symphonic Band, the Royal Blues Jazz Band, the RHS Big Band, and the Marching Tiger Band.   He also serves on the Operations Staff for the American Band College in Ashland, OR and the Western International Band Clinic in Seattle, WA.  At ABC and WIBC, Mr. Wright has had the privilege to work and collaborate with the best in the business including Frank Wickes, Paula Crider, David Holsinger, Johan de Meij, Frank Ticheli, Joe Alessi, Eugene Rousseau, Doc Severinsen, the Canadian Brass, and Colonels Arnald Gabriel, Mike Bankhead, Lowell Graham, and John Bourgeois as well as many others.

 

  Mr. Wright was named the RMS Teacher of the Year for the 2000-2001 academic year and has received several Citation of Excellence awards from the National Band Association.  Mr. Wright is a member of several professional organizations and an elected member of the ASBDA and Phi Beta Mu. Mr. Wright was named a Legion of Honor Laureate by the John Philip Sousa Foundation at the Midwest Clinic in 2018.  He has served GMEA as District VII band chair, and GMEA Vice-President of All-State events for the State of Georgia.

 

Bands under Mr. Wright’s direction have performed at the Southeastern United States Band Clinic in Troy, AL, the GMEA In-Service Conference, the University of Georgia’s Mid-Fest, and the bi-centennials of The White House (2000) and The Star-Spangled Banner (2014).   The band has received a commendation from the Governor of Georgia and performs regularly at the State capitol in Atlanta.  The band has also received numerous superior ratings at GMEA and regional festivals and was awarded the GMEA “Exemplary Performance Award”.

 

 The RHS Marching Tiger Band has won numerous championships, performed in the New York City Veteran’s Day parade, the Chicago St. Patrick’s Day parade, the Atlanta Christmas Parade, and traveled to The Bahamas and Canada.  The RHS Band has performed in many venues, most recently at Carnegie Hall in New York City (2018) and Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom (2022) and with many legendary performers such as Patrick Sheridan and the Boston Brass.

 

A marching, concert, and jazz band clinician and adjudicator, Mr. Wright most recently conducted the South Carolina, Mississippi, and North Dakota All-State Bands, the State Honors Ensemble of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia, and the Kamehameha Band Festival in Hilo, Hawaii. He was also a part of the musical remembrance of the 75th anniversary of D-Day in Normandy, France in June, 2019. Mr. Wright has received recognition from the Shuler Awards for his work with the RHS Pit Orchestra in the productions of Oklahoma!  Thoroughly Modern Millie, and Shrek.

 

Mr. Wright was awarded the Master of Music in Conducting from the American Band College at Southern Oregon University in 2004.  He earned a Bachelor of Science in Music Education from Jacksonville State University in Jacksonville, AL in 1992.  At JSU, Mr. Wright served as a drum major of the nationally renowned Marching Southerners, directed the JSU Pep Band, and was a student of Ronald C. Attinger , David L. Walters, and Scott McBride.

 

A native of Ringgold, Georgia, Mr. Wright is a member of Quitman Lodge No. 106, Free & Accepted Masons and the York Rite and Scottish Rite.  He lives in Chickamauga and serves as an Elder and is active in the music department at Covenant Presbyterian Church (PCA) in Chattanooga, TN.