MACON – Mercer University’s School of Music appointed Dr. Nathan Gay associate professor of music and director of athletic bands, effective July 1.
Dr. Gay will be responsible for directing Mercer’s marching band, basketball pep bands and will serve as a guest conductor of the wind ensemble. In addition, he will become the primary instructor for low brass and brass methods classes for music education majors.
Dr. Gay earned his both Master of Music in euphonium performance, with a bass trombone concentration, and his Doctor of Music Arts in euphonium performance from the University of Missouri–Kansas City Conservatory of Music and Dance in 2005 and 2012, respectively.
An experienced director at the collegiate level, Dr. Gay served as director of athletic bands at Emporia State University in Emporia, Kansas, from 2010-2014, and at Missouri Western University from 2014-2021. In addition to his work at the collegiate level, he has had extensive experience with middle and high school athletic and concert bands.
“We are extremely pleased to have Dr. Nathan Gay as a new faculty member of the Townsend School of Music and as director of Mercer’s athletic bands,” said Dr. C. David Keith, dean of the School of Music. “He is an excellent educator, and his experience at the collegiate level will be an asset in creating the outstanding game day experience for those attending Mercer athletic events.”
As a performer, Dr. Gay has been a member of the award-winning Fountain City Brass Band in Kansas City, Missouri, since 2004. The band has won North American Brass Band Association (NABBA) championships multiple times, and Dr. Gay has won the NABBA Low Brass Soloist Competition three times. Additionally, he performs as the principal euphonium in the Mid-America Tuba Quartet.
“I am thrilled to have been afforded the opportunity to work side by side with the outstanding faculty and students at Mercer University,” said Dr. Gay. “It is a very exciting time as my family starts the next chapter of our lives.”
Dr. Gay will be moving to Macon this summer with his wife, Arah, who is also a music educator, as well as their two children, 3-year-old Erika and 3-week-old Emily.
About Townsend School of Music
Mercer University’s Townsend School of Music, the Robert McDuffie Center for Strings and the Townsend-McAfee Institute for Graduate Studies offer undergraduate and graduate professional music studies in a comprehensive university environment. Townsend is nationally recognized for its outstanding faculty, award-winning students, performance ensembles and state-of-the-art facilities. The McDuffie Center, a special institute within Townsend School of Music, is a highly selective program that prepares string students for success in the real world. Students study with some of America’s most renowned string musicians, receiving music instruction of conservatory quality, while earning an academically well-rounded education from a comprehensive, nationally recognized university. For more information and a complete listing of this season’s concerts, visit www.mercer.edu/music, or call (478) 301-2748.
