Brady Massey

Mr. Brady Massey is a composer with the RWS Music Company, staff arranger for the Sky Ryders Drum and Bugle Corps, and the director of the Arkansas Ambassadors of Music, which takes high school musicians from around Arkansas on a European concert tour every other year. 

After 33 years of classroom teaching, Mr. Massey retired as the Director of Bands at Pocahontas High School, where he served for 20 years. He also founded and developed the band program at Williams Baptist University, creating a Bachelor’s degree curriculum for Instrumental Music Education majors. His earlier roles included Director of Bands at Hoxie and Trumann High Schools, along with adjunct and assistant director positions at Arkansas State University and Jonesboro High School. His extensive experience in the drum corps activity further enhances his diverse background in music education. 

Mr. Massey holds a Bachelor’s degree in Music Education from the University of Central Arkansas and a Master’s degree in Music Composition from Arkansas State University, where he studied under Dr. Jared Spears. Under his leadership, bands consistently achieved superior ratings and accolades at state, regional, and national events. He is in demand as a guest conductor, clinician, and adjudicator, and he has several published works. Additionally, he composes and arranges competition music for bands and various organizations in the Marching Arts. 

Mr. Massey’s professional affiliations include the American Society for Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP), the Sky Ryders Performing Arts Foundation, the National Band Association, Phi Beta Mu, the American School Band Directors Association, the Arkansas School Band and Orchestra Association, and the College Band Directors National Association. He has previously served on the board of directors of the Destinations (previously Dixie) Band Camp, Drum Corps South, and is a recent past-president of the Arkansas Bandmasters Association. 

He has been honored with numerous awards and recognition, including Teacher of the Year in both the Trumann and Pocahontas school districts, the KAIT-TV “Golden Ruler” award for excellence in education, Director of the Year awards from both Phi Beta Mu and ASBDA, and has been a finalist for Arkansas Teacher of the Year. Most recently, he was named nationally as one of the “50 Directors Who Make a Difference” by School Band and Orchestra magazine, and named to the Mid-South Band Directors Walk of Fame in Memphis. Grateful for the mentorship he has received throughout his career, Mr. Massey takes pride in having collaborated with and learned from thousands of talented student musicians. He resides in Pocahontas, Arkansas, with his wife Carol, daughter Makenzie, and Bella the wonder-hound.