Directors

Brice Evans is in his 29th year of education and his 1st year as the Director of Bands and Coordinator of Instrumental Music for Jonesboro Public Schools. He spent the 3 previous years in a similar position for the West Memphis School District and was the Director of Instrumental Music at Little Rock Central High from 2010 - 2022. Mr. Evans is an alumnus of Jonesboro High School, graduating in 1990. His post-secondary work includes a Bachelor of Music Education from Arkansas State University, a Master of Music in Trombone Performance from Arkansas State University, and completion all coursework for the Ph.D. at Ole Miss.

Bands under Mr. Evans' direction have performed at the 2000 Cotton Bowl, 2001 Waikiki Holiday Parade, 2013 Presidential Inaugural Parade, and 2016 Waikiki Holiday Parade. Mr. Evans also maintains an active schedule as a freelance trombonist and has performed with The Temptations, Doc Severinson, John Faddis, Wycliffe Gordon, Chris Vadala, Vincent DiMartino, Marvin Stamm, and Herb Ellis.

Mr. Evans has twice been named a quarter-finalist for the Grammy Foundation National Music Educator of the Year and currently serves as secretary on the board of the Arkansas Bandmasters Association.

His wife, Hannah, is the librarian at JHS and they have a son, a foster daughter, and two pet dogs named Desdemona and Sirius.

Trent Warner is in his 11th year of education and 7th year as the Assistant Band Director of The Jonesboro Band where he assists with The Jonesboro Marching Band, directs the Jonesboro Concert Winds and leads the Jonesboro Jazz Ensemble I. Mr. Warner also teaches beginning clarinet and saxophone at Annie Camp Junior High and Douglas MacArthur Junior High. Under his direction, the Jonesboro Concert Winds have consistently received superior ratings at Region Concert Assessment and superior ratings at the 2025 State Concert Contest. 

Prior to his appointment at the Academies at Jonesboro High School, Mr. Warner has served as the Director of Bands at Annie Camp Junior High School from the fall of 2015 to spring of 2019 where his bands consistently received superior ratings on stage and in sight reading at Region Concert Assessment.

A product of the Jonesboro band program, he received his Bachelor's Degree in Music Education from the University of Central Arkansas and a Master's Degree in Saxophone Performance from Texas Christian University where he served as a Graduate Assistant, principle alto saxophone in the TCU Wind Symphony under Mr. Bobby Francis, and lead tenor saxophone in the TCU Jazz Ensemble under Mr. Joe Eckert.

Mr. Warner received the Phi Beta Mu Young Band Director of the Year award for the 2021-2022 school year. In the Spring of 2022, he was appointed as the President of the Arkansas Jazz Educators Association serving in that position until the spring of 2025. Mr. Warner is currently the band leader and lead alto saxophone of The Jazzboro Big Band which is made up of musicians from Northeast Arkansas.

When not working with The Jonesboro Band, Mr. Warner enjoys spending time with his wife Emma, their three children, their dog Ella, and two cats Miles and Missy.

Ben White is beginning his 7th year as Assistant Band Director at The Academies at Jonesboro High School, his alma mater. He serves as the Director of Percussion for the Jonesboro School District and assists with the Jonesboro Jazz Ensembles. He received his Bachelor of Arts in Music from Arkansas State University and a Masters of Arts in Teaching from Southern Arkansas University. 

Before joining the staff at Jonesboro, Ben worked at the Memphis Drum Shop for 10 years where he created drum set demonstration videos for memphisdrumshop.com and cymbal demonstration videos for myCymbal.com. He was also the primary music instructor for the store’s percussion studio. During his time in Memphis, Ben regularly performed on Beale Street with several different groups, playing many different styles of music. He is enthusiastic about sharing insights he has gained through his experience and is dedicated to having a positive influence on percussion education in Arkansas.

Hunter Durham is the band director at MacArthur Junior High in Jonesboro, Arkansas, serving the students of Jonesboro Public Schools. Before joining the team at MacArthur, he spent nine years as the band director at Rivercrest High School, where he helped build a state championship band program. Mr. Durham earned both his Bachelor’s Degree in Music Education and his Master’s Degree in Educational Leadership from Arkansas State University.

Throughout his 10-year teaching career, Mr. Durham has developed a strong interest in marching band show design, multimedia creation, and audio systems—skills learned through hands-on experience and meeting the unique needs of his programs. However, while Mr. Durham loves working with the high school marching band and other elements of the Jonesboro Band Program, he ultimately became an educator because of his love for teaching junior high students!

Mr. Durham’s professional memberships include the Arkansas Bandmasters Association and the Arkansas School Band and Orchestra Association. When he is not at school or working on audio projects, he enjoys graphic design, multimedia creation, video games, hiking, and camping. He also loves spending time with his wife, Kayla, their daughter, Eleanor, and their four pets—dogs Kora and Piper, and cats Lottie and Swanson.