About the Staff

David C. Allison, Director of Bands, earned a masters degree in Music Performance from the University of South Carolina after undergraduate studies at Ithaca College and at the Eastman School of Music.  He has taught in public schools, privately, and at the college level. Currently he is in his 4th year as the Director of Bands at Spring Valley High School, and is also in his 15^thyear as Director of Bands at Summit Parkway Middle School.

As Director of Bands, Mr. Allison has created a successful band program at Spring Valley High School.  Under his direction, the Spring Valley Viking Bands have consistently received numerous Superior ratings at various marching festivals and competitions.  During his tenure, the Spring Valley Symphonic Band has earned Superior ratings in Grade VI classic music literature at the South Carolina Band Directors’ Association Concert Festivals.  Under his direction, the Spring Valley Bands have annually earned the SCBDA Outstanding Performance Award.

With the help of Spring Valley’s faculty and administration, Mr. Allison has worked to allow opportunities for students to continue in the Spring Valley Band programs while concentrating on their rigorous academic courses.  He has also worked to create an instrumental music curriculum at the district and state level.

Students under Mr. Allison’s direction have earned seats in the South Carolina Band Directors’ Association’s Region Three Bands and All-State Bands.  His students have also participated in band clinics at the University of South Carolina, Winthrop College and Furman University.  Students under his direction have also earned seats in the Richland Two’s District Orchestra and in the South Carolina Youth Philharmonic.  Mr. Allison has had several students earn music scholarships and continue onto majoring in music performance and music education, or performing at the collegiate level.

As Director of Bands at Summit Parkway, the Summit Parkway Bands have earned superior ratings at SCBDA’s Concert Festival for 12 consecutive years; they  have earned superior ratings at Carowinds, the Orlando Festival of Music, the All-Star Music Festival in Orlando, FL, the All-American Festival in Orlando, the Grand National Adjudicators Invitational, and the Dixie Classic Festival in Atlanta, GA. At Grand NAI, the ensemble received top honors among middle school bands in 2000, 2002 and 2005.

Summit Parkway has earned the SCBDA Outstanding Performance Award for twelve consecutive years.  In 2001, the Summit Parkway Honor Band performed at the South Carolina Music Educators Association In-Service Conference in Greenville, SC; and in 2002, they performed at the MENC National Biennial In-Service Conference in Nashville and also at the Midwest International Band and Orchestra Clinic in Chicago.  In April 2001, the Summit Parkway Jazz Band was featured at Vh-1 Save the Music inaugural event on the steps of the South Carolina State House in Columbia. In November 2002, the Honor Band was asked to perform for President Bush upon his arrival in Columbia. In February 2007, the Honor Band performed at the Southern Division MENC Convention in Charleston, SC.

Mr. Allison was named the 1998-99 Summit Parkway Teacher of the Year. He was named in School Band & Orchestra magazine’s Fifty Teachers Who Make a Difference n in 2001, and was awarded the Citation of Excellence by the National Bandmasters Association in 2001, 2002 and 2007. Mr. Allison has conducted numerous band and orchestra clinics, and has authored articles on trumpet pedagogy for publications including the South Carolina Bandmaster. In May 2003, he was a featured presenter at the Iowa Bandmasters Clinic; in February 2003, he was guest conductor of the Ridge View High School Band’s performance at the University of Southern Mississippi Band Clinic, and in March 2005, was guest conductor of the Ridge View Band at the Bands of America National Concert Festival.  He was recently awarded the National Band Association Citation of Excellence Award.

As a trumpet player, Mr. Allison continues to perform in both the classical and commercial fields,  in shows, recording sessions, clinics and teaching. He has performed with many orchestras in New York, Kansas, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and Georgia. Currently he is in his twenty-first season as the principal trumpet with the South Carolina Philharmonic. He is a founding member and solo trumpet of the Palmetto Brass and performs with the Dick Goodwin Big Band and the Palmetto Concert Band. Mr. Allison has appeared as guest soloist with the Savannah Symphony, the South Carolina Philharmonic, the University of South Carolina Symphony, and the S.C. Chamber Orchestra. The Getzen Company has named Mr. Allison an Artist/Clinician for Getzen trumpets.

Mr. Allison has earned National Board Certification in Early Adolescence through Young Adulthood/Music; and maintains professional affiliations with the SCBDA, MENC, NBA, IAJE, ITG and Phi Beta Mu.  

Mr. Allison and his wife have two adult daughters.

Daniel Humber, Assistant Director of Bands, is a native of Knoxville, TN and is a graduate of the University of Tennessee where he earned a Bachelor of Music with an emphasis in instrumental music education in 2001.  Mr. Humber is certified by the College Board as an AP Music Theory Instructor and is currently pursuing National Board Certification in Early Adolescence through Young Adulthood / Music.

Before joining the staff at Spring Valley, Mr. Humber taught at Red Bank High School in Chattanooga, TN for three years.  Under his direction, the Red Bank Blue Lion Band consistently earned Superior ratings in marching and concert band performances. 

Mr. Humber is currently in his fourth year as Assistant Director of Bands at Spring Valley High School.  His responsibilities include working with the Symphonic and Marching Bands, conducting the Concert Band, teaching Advanced Placement Music Theory, and taking care of administrative responsibilities for the entire band program.  Under his direction, the Concert Band has received Excellent and Superior ratings at the South Carolina State Concert Festival as well as numerous Superior ratings at marching contests.  Spring Valley High School has earned the SCBDA Outstanding Performance Award every year of his tenure.

In addition to his work at Spring Valley High School, Mr. Humber also serves as the Assistant Music Director at Spring Valley Presbyterian Church where he directs the Handbell Choir, Youth Choir, and the Contemporary Praise Band in addition to singing in the Adult Choir.  Mr. Humber is also an active member of the Palmetto Concert Band.

Mr. Humber maintains professional affiliations with Music Educators National Conference (MENC), South Carolina Music Educators Association (SCMEA), South Carolina Band Directors Association (SCBDA), Presbyterian Association of Musicians (PAM) , and Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia (ΦMA).  

Mr. Humber and his wife, Kelly, have a new baby boy, William Ryan Humber.

Maria E. Lee, Assistant, is a native of Texas.   After graduating from Spring Valley HS in 1988, she earned a Bachelor's Degree in Music with an emphasis in Music Education in 1992. Her post graduate studies include courses in music and computer technology, computer graphics, band literature, music education curriculum and administration, and the Alexander Technique. Mrs. Lee has studied saxophone with Dr. Clifford Leaman.  She earned a Masters Degree in Music Education from the University of South Carolina in 2007.
 
 Mrs. Lee has taught in public schools at the high school and middle school level for fifteen years.  She served as Director of Bands at A.C. Flora High School in Columbia, South Carolina, from 1993 to 1999.  Under her direction, the A.C. Flora Bands consistently earned superior ratings at marching and state concert festivals.  
 
 Mrs. Lee has served as woodwind instructor for the Spring Valley High School Bands in Columbia since 1999.  She has taught privately in Richland District Two since 1999.  Students who have studied in her studio have consistently earned top chairs in the South Carolina Band Director’s Association Region and All-State Bands.   
 
 Mrs. Lee is currently in her ninth year as Assistant Director of Bands at Summit Parkway Middle School and in her fourth year as administrative assistant for the Spring Valley High School Bands.  She has conducted the SPMS BANDS in performances such as the Southern Division Music Educators National Conference in 2007 in Charleston, SC; the Midwest Clinic in December of 2002 in Chicago, IL; and the South Carolina Music Educators Association in 2001 in Greenville, SC.
 
 During her tenure as assistant director, the Summit Parkway Bands have consistently received Superior ratings at both state and regional concert festivals and have been awarded the SCBDA Outstanding Performance Award. Both the seventh and eighth grade bands have earned superior ratings at The Grand National Adjudicators Invitational and the Dixie Classic Festivals.  In 2002, the eighth grade band was named the Grand NAI Festival Honor Band. In 2003 and 2004, the band was awarded first place in the All-American Festival.
 
 Mrs. Lee has served on the Tri-District Arts Consortium of Columbia, South Carolina audition committee.  She is in her second year as winds ensemble teacher and music theory instructor.
 
 Mrs. Lee has earned National Board Certification in Early Adolescence through Young Adulthood/Music. She was recently awarded the National Band Association Citation of Excellence Award. Mrs. Lee maintains professional affiliations with SCBDA, MENC and SCMEA.  Mrs. Lee also maintains the Summit Parkway Bands' web site.

Michelle Ortiz, Assistant, is a graduate of the University of South Carolina where she earned a Bachelor's Degree in Music with an emphasis in Music Education and a Post-Graduate Certificate in Performance in 2001.  She is currently pursuing a Masters Degree in Music Education from the University of South Carolina.

Mrs. Ortiz is currently in her seventh year as Director of Bands at EL Wright Middle School.  Under her direction, the EL Wright Middle School Band has earned Superior and Excellent Ratings at SCBDA Concert Festivals, Dixie Classic Festival in Atlanta and the SCBDA Jazz Festival.   Mrs. Ortiz has also assisted the Spring Valley Viking Band and the Richland Northeast Silver Cadets Band for the past four years.

Mrs. Ortiz performs professionally as a horn player for Palmetto Concert Band.  She is also a private horn lesson instructor.  She holds professional affiliations with MENC, SCBDA, Sigma Alpha Iota, and Kappa Kappa Psi.

Mrs. Ortiz and her husband have a daughter.