JAMES W. SIMMONS

Segment from the 2014 Albemarle High School Alumni Association Hall of Fame induction ceremony.
Featuring inductee James W. Simmons. Filmed on May 9, 2014.

James W. Simmons assumed the position of Music Director of the Charlottesville Municipal Band on February 1, 1980 and was the Band's sixth music director. A native of Charlottesville, he graduated from Lane High School in 1947, received a B.S. in Music Education in 1951 from Concord College, Athens, West Virginia and a M. Ed. in Music Education from the University of Virginia in 1959.

In 1956 Mr. Simmons became band director at Albemarle High School in Charlottesville, a position he held until 1971, during which time the Albemarle Band consistently received "superior" and "excellent" ratings at festival competitions. In 1971 he was appointed Fine Arts Coordinator for the Albemarle County Public Schools, a position he held until his retirement in 1984. Mr. Simmons was active in the Virginia Band & Orchestra Directors Association and the Virginia Music Educators Association.

He is a past president of both organizations and was honored by VBODA for his "many years of contributions to the improvement of instrumental music in the Commonwealth of Virginia". He also served as Editor of VEMA's official publication "NOTES". Mr. Simmons began playing in the Charlottesville Municipal Band in 1946 and has served on two occasions as President of the Band's Board of Directors. He was appointed Music Director of the Band in 1980, and during his twenty-six year tenure the Band increased in both membership and musicianship, playing many concerts both in Charlottesville and in surrounding communities and across the state, attracting overflow audiences everywhere it played.

He retired on December 31, 2006, and conducted his final program at the Band’s Spring Concert on April 24, 2007. He currently is enjoying retirement from the Band by spending time with family and friends, traveling, attending opera performances and pursuing his hobby of photography as an active and award-wining member of the Charlotesville Camera Club.