Directors

Jay Davis
Director of Bands

Jay Davis is currently enjoying his nineteenth year in education, sixth as the Director of Bands at Houston County High School in Warner Robins, Georgia. He holds degrees with honors from Georgia College and State University and Auburn University, both in Music Education.

As Director of Bands at Houston County High School, he oversees over 320 students daily divided into four concert ensembles, a jazz ensemble, a percussion ensemble, and a dedicated color guard class. The Black and Silver Brigade, HCHS’s marching unit, includes two marching bands, serving over 200 students. Bands under his direction have consistently received Superior ratings at adjudicated events throughout the southeast in both the concert and marching areas, including Grand Champion honors at several marching band competitions. Additionally, the Houston County High School Band was awarded the Exemplary Performance Award by the Georgia Music Educators Association for the 2016-2017 school year. Previously, Davis has worked on the faculty of the GCSU Jazz and Symphonic Music Camps, as well as the staff for the Encore Music Camp, Camp ExtravaBANDza, and the Georgia Music Ambassadors.  Currently, Jay has served on the All State Committee and is in his second term as GMEA District Eleven Chair. He was also recently added to serve as an advisor to the Educational Resource Committee of the International Horn Society. Jay holds or has held memberships in the International Trumpet Guild, Pi Kappa Lambda, GMEA, the National Band Association, the International Horn Society, and has served as a Province Governor for Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia, a fraternity for men of music. He has also served on the Board of Directors of the Georgia College Alumni Association and the community band, Tara Winds. Jay also performs with the Wellston Winds, where he serves as an associate conductor.  Jay was inducted into the Phi Beta Mu International Bandmaster’s fraternity in March of 2020.

Jay is married to Dr. Tina Holmes-Davis, Associate Professor of Music Education at Georgia College, and is the proud father of twins, Emma and Jonah, who are students at HoCo.

Dillon Watkins
Assistant Director of Bands
Dillon Watkins is incredibly excited to join the Black and Silver Brigade as the new Assistant Band Director! Dillon is the former music teacher at Hilltop Elementary School in Bonaire, Georgia, the assistant director of athletic bands at Jones County High School and the director of bands at Tattnall Square Academy. Mr. Watkins has been on staff with Mercer University Athletic Bands, the Wesleyan School, ALLIANCE Drum and Bugle Corps, Jones County High School, Forsyth Central High School, Georgia Military College Preparatory School, and Genesis Drum and Bugle Corps. His drum corps career began as a marching member in 2013 with the seven-time world champions, Cavaliers of Rosemont, Illinois. Soon after aging out of the Cavaliers, Dillon began teaching scholastic and independent ensembles throughout the Southeast and Southwest regions of the country. He joined ALLIANCE as a member of the visual staff in 2015 during which the corps placed second in DCA A-class Finals. In 2016, Dillon returned to ALLIANCE as the assistant caption head for both the brass and visual captions and helped lead the brass caption to a DCA Open Class finals finish. Mr. Watkins joined the Jones County band staff in the Spring of 2016 and helped lead the band to competitive success in four different divisions. Most recently, Mr. Watkins was appointed as the brass caption head for Genesis Drum and Bugle Corps in Austin, Texas beginning in the Fall of 2019. Genesis competes as part of Drum Corps International’s World Class Division and can be seen performing/competing throughout the country each summer. During the 2021 summer, Genesis Brass had the opportunity to perform and record with FivE Quartet as well as conduct masterclasses with Aubrey Logan and Fran Kick.

Dillon holds an Associate of Arts degree from Georgia Military College and a Bachelor of Music Education from Mercer University. Dillon has studied conducting under Dr. Douglas Hill, Dr. Stanley Roberts, Maestro Adrian Gnam, Dr. Jamie Nix, Scott Boerma, and Craig Kirchhoff. While an undergraduate at Mercer, he studied trumpet with Jonathan Swygert, Michael Tiscone, Bill Denton, and Dr. Ramon Vasquez. Mr. Watkins has had the privilege of performing with the Mercer University Wind Ensemble, Mercer Brass Quintet, Mercer Trumpet Ensemble (MUTE), Mercer Brass choir, Mercer University Orchestra, Mercer Athletic Bands, and Middle Georgia Choral Association. Notable performances for Mr. Watkins include playing for Govenor Nathan Deal’s personal Christmas party with the Mercer Brass Quintet and performing as a member of the pit for Mercer University’s production of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s “Oklahoma!” As a conductor, Dillon has been featured as an associate conductor of the Mercer University Wind Ensemble, conductor of the Mercer Trumpet and Brass Choirs, and has served as a chamber ensemble coach for the brass quintets. Dillon has also been featured as a guest conductor for the Jones County High School Symphonic Band.

Dillon is an active performer, adjudicator, clinician, and conductor in the middle Georgia area. Mr. Watkins is extremely involved as a visual designer and educator with pageantry arts ensembles throughout the Southeast and Southwest. His show designs have been awarded top honors at competitions throughout the region. Mr. Watkins currently resides in Bonaire, Georgia with his wife, son, and their dog, Kona. Mr. and Mrs. Watkins are both educators in Houston County at Hilltop Elementary and Houston County High School, respectively.