The Pride of the South

The Pride of the South is the name of the marching band at The University of Mississippi in Oxford, Mississippi. The full band plays at all Ole Miss home football games, and a smaller pep band is sent to most away games. The full band also travels to Ole Miss bowl games and Starkville, Mississippi when Mississippi State University hosts the Egg Bowl.The University of Mississippi Band has been giving outstanding performances in concert and in support of Ole Miss athletic events since it was organized in 1928. In addition to performing at all home football games and many away games, the marching band has attended numerous bowl games including the Sugar Bowl, the Gator Bowl, the Liberty Bowl, the Independence Bowl, the Peach Bowl, the Cotton Bowl, and more recently the Motor City Bowl in 1997, the Music City Bowl in 2000, the Independence Bowl in 1998, 1999 and 2002, and the Cotton Bowl in 2004, 2009 and 2010.

In addition to the Marching Band there are several "Pep bands" formed out of "The Pride of the South". These Pep bands perform for numerous functions such as pep rallies before each home game. Another extension of the Ole Miss Band is the Ole Miss Basketball band. The basketball band supports both the Rebel and Lady Rebel Basketball teams at all home games after football season, as well as traveling to the SEC and NCAA tournaments annually.

The Ole Miss Band is composed of students from diverse courses of study such as Pre-Med, Criminal Justice, Engineering, Political Science, Journalism and countless others. The Pride of the South offers competitive scholarships for students of every major in the University, contingent upon funding.

David Willson
David Willson is in his twentieth year as Director of Bands at the University of Mississippi. Under his leadership the band has developed into a truly outstanding university band and has doubled in membership. A Jackson, MS native who attended Provine High School and the University of Mississippi, Willson has directed bands in Mississippi at Independence, Columbus and Clinton. His bands have consistently won awards at the state and national level. Willson was awarded the A.S.B.D.A. Outstanding Young Band Director Award in 1985 and in 1990 the Mississippi Bandmasters Outstanding Band Director of the Year. Willson worked on the Mississippi Lions All-State Band Staff five times including serving as head director in 1995 when the All-State Band won the international parade in Seoul, Korea. He has served as president of the Mississippi Bandmasters, Mississippi Delta Chapter of Phi Beta Mu, the state chair of C.B.D.N.A., and served four years on the N.F.I.M.A. national board. He is now currently serving as the International President of Phi Beta Mu. Willson is active nationally as a conductor, adjudicator and speaker. Willson conducts the UM Wind Ensemble and instructs music education and various courses within the music department. His “Band Calisthenics” and “Starting Beginning Bands” books are used extensively throughout the Mid-South. Willson was the 2005-2006 recipient of the Frist award for outstanding service to students and is the 2006-2007 recipient of the Elsie M. Hood Outstanding Teacher Award for the University of Mississippi.

Bill DeJournett
Dr. Bill DeJournett is in his eighth year as the Associate Director of Bands at the University of Mississippi. Recently named the eleventh director of the "Pride of the South" marching band beginning in the fall of 2010, he also conducts the "Rebel Rebound Sound" basketball band, conducts the UM Symphonic band, and teaches courses within the music department. Prior to coming to Ole Miss, DeJournett was Director of Athletic Bands at Colorado State University and at Elon University in North Carolina. Dr. DeJournett has also taught in the public schools of Alabama and Georgia. He possesses degrees from the David L. Walters Department of Music at Jacksonville State University, Northern Illinois University, and the University of Mississippi.

Dr. DeJournett is the author of "Brass Secrets", and his articles have appeared in the Instrumentalist, Fanfare, the NFIMA Journal and the NACWPI Journal. He has presented his research at professional conferences throughout the Southeast and in Seattle, Washington. His professional associations include Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia, Kappa Kappa Psi, Omicron Delta Kappa, the Mississippi Bandmaster Association, Music Educators National Conference, the College Music Society and the College Band Directors' National Association, and has served as state chair for the National Band Association. Dr. DeJournett has conducted honor bands and adjudicated concert festivals in Mississippi, Colorado, Texas, North Carolina, West Virginia and Saskatchewan. He has earned a reputation as a respected marching band adjudicator having judged numerous contests in Georgia, North Carolina, Colorado, Mississippi and Arkansas and is currently sanctioned by the USSBA. DeJournett is a former member of the Spirit of Atlanta Drum and Bugle Corps and a former member of the Phantom Regiment Drum and Bugle Corps of Rockford/Loves Park, Illinois, and has instructed various drum corps at the Open Class and World Class levels.

Randy Dale
Randy Dale is in his second year as the Assistant Director of Bands at Ole Miss. Dale earned a Bachelor’s degree in music education from The University of Mississippi in 2001. He served with the Ole Miss Band as a graduate assistant for one year before becoming the Director of Bands at the Southern Baptist Educational Center in Southaven, Mississippi in 2002. Dale continued studying through the University of Mississippi to earn his Masters degree in Music Education in 2005. Dale holds memberships in The Music Educators’ National Conference (MENC), The Percussive Arts Society (PAS), and The Texas Music Educators’ Association (TMEA).

In eight years as the Director of Bands at SBEC (Southern Baptist Education Center) located in Southaven, MS, Dale was able to produce outstanding results that were unprecedented for the program. Under his direction the band tripled in size and won numerous awards and superior ratings at marching contests throughout Mississippi and Tennessee. Dale has produced students that have made the Mississippi Lions All-State Band and who have participated in World Class drum and bugle corps. Dale serves as an adjudicator for marching band competitions and indoor percussion competitions throughout Mississippi and Tennessee.