Following a successful six-year tenure as the Director of Bands at T.R. Miller High School in Brewton, Alabama, Carl Major has returned to Foley High School as the Director of Bands. In the late 1990’s, Mr. Major led an extraordinary Foley Band to a Grammy Award, numerous superior ratings and championships, proclamations from Local and State Representatives, and commendations from the President of the United States. Mr. Major earned his Bachelors degree from the University of Southern Mississippi and a Masters degree from the University of Phoenix. Mr. Major has teaching experience in Tennessee, Florida, and Alabama.
Carl Major composes drill, music, and percussion arrangements for many bands in the South Eastern United States. Mr. Major has also served as a private studio teacher at Chipola Jr. College in Marianna, Florida. As a highly sought out clinician and instructor, Mr. Major travels during the summer months teaching numerous band and percussion camps. Mr. Major has taught over 100 summer band and percussion camps, as well as judged band and percussion contests, in Mississippi, Florida, Louisiana, Alabama, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Minnesota, and Georgia. He has performed in Taiwan, Hawaii, the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade, the Fiesta Bowl Parade, the Tournament of Roses parade, and Carnage Hall in New York City. Mr. Major currently serves as the Percussion Editor for both the Jalen and Matrix Music Publishing Companies of Orlando, Florida. Mr. Major has over 120 original and arranged compositions published with Jalen Publishing, Pepper Music, the Southern Music Company, and Matrix Publishing. As of 2006, over 400-band programs worldwide have performed music or drill written by Mr. Carl Major, confirmed by the accolades of the Jalen and Matrix Publishing Companies.
Mr. Major holds professional memberships with the National Band Association, Percussion Arts Society, Alabama Bandmasters Association, Florida Bandmasters Association, Music Educators National Conference, the International Association of Rudimental Percussionist, and he is also a member of the National Who’s Who among American High School Teachers and Music Educators. In 2004, Mr. Major became a member of the American School Band Directors Association. A very elite membership, this organization has only 8 active members in the state of Alabama. Under Mr. Major’s guidance in 2000, the Foley Band Program was designated as a “Grammy Signature School” for having one of the top 100 band programs in the United States, and earned a “Grammy Award”. For this outstanding accomplishment, Mr. Major was awarded the “Citation of Excellence” through the National Band Association for excellence in Music Education. Mr. Major’s bands have also been listed in the Drum Corp Internationals “Commitment to Excellence” program, recognizing only 937 bands in the United States and only 37 bands from Alabama.
With all of these personal and musical accolades, Mr. Major has placed many of his band students at major Universities with music scholarships including Troy University, Auburn University, The University of Southern Mississippi, The University of South Alabama, Mississippi State University, The University of West Alabama, Louisiana State University, Alabama A & M, Interlochen School of Music, Gulf Coast Community College, University of Tennessee, and The University of Alabama.
Carl Major has been married to Amanda Major of Fairhope, Alabama for 15 years. Mrs. Major received a triple major in English, Philosophy, and Instrument Musical Education from the University of Southern Mississippi. She received a Masters degree in English from The University of South Alabama. Mr. and Mrs. Major have three children; 9-year-old Madison Leigh, 8-year-old Carson, and 6-year-old Grayson.