About


Eric
Dunn

Who is Eric Dunn? I’ve been a husband since 1993, a father since 1999, a teacher since 1988 and a follower of Jesus Christ since childhood.

Growing up

I grew up in southwest Pennsylvania. My home life was loving and stable. Dad worked at Fisher Body as a payroll supervisor and Mom did a variety of things ranging from stay home Mom to interior decorator to waitress to buyer for a clothing store. Dad worked long hours to provide for me and my four siblings.

Every Sunday you could find us at Calvary Baptist Church in Irwin. Dad sang solos occasionally on Sunday mornings and I played in a trumpet trio. That was my first taste of performing in public.

I attended schools in the Norwin school district from k-12 and that is where I learned to play Trumpet. I was blessed to be taught by one of the top music educators of the time, LJ Hancock. You can read more about that here.

My parents paid for weekly trumpet lessons. Maybe they knew something I didn’t know?

I graduated from Norwin in 1983 with 7 Bands of America medals. I was part of a National Championship program! This had a profound influence on my life.

My life was filled with excellence and. consistency.

Off to college

I left southwest Pennsylvania for Virginia’s Shenandoah valley and James Madison University (JMU). This moved me about 6 hours away from home! I received my Bachelor’s Degree in Music Education in 1988. My academic record was not stellar but I began to learn how to learn while I was at JMU.

And I began to realize how much I didn’t know.

Starting Work

I graduated from JMU hungry for a job in the band directing field. I found work at Northampton Middle school in Machipongo, Virginia. My two years in that position were painful and tested my resolve. They also began molding me into the teacher that I would become.

In 1990 I left Northampton Middle and started working at a private christian school called Lynchburg Christian Academy (LCA) (Now called Liberty Christian Academy). I was the 6 – 12 band director and also the 8th grade boys Bible teacher.

It was there that I began to hone my skills and work toward achieving life goals that I had set. In 1997 we were the Bands of America (BOA), Johnson City Class A Regional Champion.

In 1999 the LCA band went to BOA Grand Nationals. We didn’t win, but we learned a great deal.

Lynchburg is also where I met my wife, Brenda and where our two children, Kent and Joella, were born.

Florida

After 10 years in Lynchburg we moved to Florida and I became the high school director at The King’s Academy (TKA). The TKA band became, in the words of the Florida Marching Band Championships a “Perennial Powerhouse”. We were small, but we were frequently in the top 3 in the state.

Pyramids of Egypt, TKA 2012. 2nd in the state. One of my favorite shows.

In 2013 was also able to revisit my dream of taking a band to BOA National Championships. The trip was a great growth experience.

In 2016 I left TKA and started working at a public charter school called Somerset Academy Canyons. Somerset was my first experience as a choral director. The entire program was in bad shape when I arrived and it took years to get things moving in the right direction.

I left Somerset Canyons in 2025 to take on the role of Director of Arts at the Babcock Neighborhood Schools.

I talk a bit about my early classroom management here.

Side gigs

2015 was a year that ushered in a great deal of change for me. One of those changes was the addition of a performing group called Stryke Wynds. I co-directed this group with a great friend for two years. And then solo for my final year.

Stryke Wynds was the 2016 Winter Guard International (WGI) Open Class World Champion. We were also silver medalists in Open Class in 2015 and silver medalists in World Class in 2017.

Stryke Wynds was a unique experience. My job was almost 100% administrative. I dealt with budgets and staff and didn’t do much teaching.

When I stopped teaching at TKA I began working on staff at Palm Beach Central high school. Their director hired me as a brass and visual tech for the marching band. It was another unique experience for me. I was used to being the director and calling the shots. Now I focused completely on teaching.

I also picked up work on John I leonard High School marching staff as well as a few marching band judging jobs.

Church

In 2017 I began attending LifeChurch Wellington. This afforded me opportunities to make great friends and see growth in my spiritual life. You could find me there on most Sunday mornings volunteering.

I was also grew my leadership skills when they asked me to be a greeter leader and was stretched even more when they asked me to be the 10 o’clock host team coach.

Blogging

I began blogging in 2023. My students have been telling me for years that I have great stories. I thought that these stories might be enjoyed by a larger audience.

All for now…

That’s an overview. I write a post on most Sundays. Posts range from recollections of my band experiences to book and movie reviews.

I hope you’ll check back weekly and hopefully find something helpful for you.

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