BIOGRAPHY
Johnnie Vinson is Director of Bands and Professor of Music Emeritus at Auburn University, Auburn, Alabama. He received bachelors and masters degrees in Music Education from Auburn, and a doctoral degree in Music Theory from the University of Mississippi.
Dr. Vinson retired from Auburn University several years ago after a long career with the Auburn Bands. Prior to joining the Auburn faculty, he taught in the public schools of Columbus, Georgia, and worked as a graduate assistant with the bands at the University of Texas and University of Mississippi. At Auburn, he supervised the overall band program, conducted the Symphonic Band, and taught conducting and band arranging. He was also faculty sponsor to Auburn’s Theta Lambda Chapter of Tau Beta Sigma.
With over 500 published arrangements and compositions, Dr. Vinson is an internationally recognized writer of music for band. His exclusive publisher is the Hal Leonard Corporation (www.halleonard.com), the world leader in the music print industry. Six of his compositions and arrangements are included in the book Teaching Music Through Performance in Middle School Band, and his "Echoes of the Hollow Square" is featured in Vol. VI of Guides to Band Masterworks. Other of his compositions, such as "Newcastle March" and "Three Czech Folk Songs," have become standards in the young band repertoire. He has served as an adjudicator and clinician throughout the United States and Canada.
Dr. Vinson has been active professionally as a member and officer in numerous organizations. He has served as the National Vice President for Professional Relations for Tau Beta Sigma, is a Past President of the Alabama Music Educators Association, and is former Alabama State Chair of the College Band Directors National Association. He is a former member of the Board of Directors of the National Band Association and served as NBA Representative to the North American Band Directors Coordinating Council. He is a Past President of Rho Chapter of Phi Beta Mu International Bandmasters Fraternity and is also a member of the National Association for Music Education (NAfME), Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia, Kappa Kappa Psi, and ASCAP.
Dr. Vinson was elected to membership in the prestigious American Bandmasters Association in 1994, has served three terms on its Board of Directors, and is currently Vice Chair of the ABA Foundation. He has been presented the Distinguished Service to Music Medal by Kappa Kappa Psi, the Citation of Excellence by the National Band Association, and the Outstanding Music Educator Award by the Alabama Music Educators Association. He has also been presented the Paula Crider Award by Tau Beta Sigma and was the first recipient of the Johnnie Vinson Award, named in his honor by Tau Beta Sigma. In 1998 he was elected to the Alabama Bandmasters Hall of Fame, and in January 2008, he was one of the inaugural class of twenty persons inducted into the Alabama Music Educators Hall of Fame.
He and his wife Nancy, a professional flutist, live in Auburn, Alabama. They have two adult sons, Lee and Ed who are also professional musicians.
To view an in-depth interview with Johnnie Vinson recorded in January, 2020, click on the link below:
Phi Beta Mu/AMEA Legacy Project Interview
To visit his YouTube channel with scores and recordings, Click Here.