Mr. Eric Combs is in his 16th year of teaching middle school level bands. He has both a bachelors degree and a masters degree in music education from Eastern Illinois University, where Mr. Combs has been awarded with a "distinguished alumni" award. He is the 2020 Illinois Teacher of the Year, and a 2021 NEA Foundation Award for Teaching Excellence winner. Mr. Combs is starting a second Masters, this time in Political Science, this fall. He plans to get his MBA as soon as he finishes his next degree, followed by a JD (law degree).

Mr. Combs began his career teaching 6th-8th band in Robinson, Illinois for three years from 2005-2008. He then became the beginning band director at RCMS in Olney, Illinois, and is now in his 12th year in this position. He is originally from Olney, and decided to become a band director in 1993 at the age of 11 while playing saxophone for director Don Graham in the same room that he now teaches.

Under the direction of Mr. Combs, the RCMS bands have earned national recognition. The music department has won awards five times through the "Best Communities for Music Education" program, being named one of a select few top school music departments in the United States. The band program has been recognized twice in recent years by the United States Congress, and regularly earns superior ratings at state contest.

Director Eric Combs was also a recipient of a 2019 Golden Apple Award from WTHI TV10, an award given to five teachers annually in the Terre Haute news viewing area. You can watch the WTHI TV10 news spot HERE, and Mr. Combs' acceptance speech HERE.

In August of 2019, Mr. Combs was awarded the "One Community, All neighbors" educator award from WSIU (National Public Radio), Carbondale, Il.

Mr. Combs is an active internet personality in the band director word, with close to 5,000 band director followers on his various sites. He shares his insights into the profession through his Facebook site, "Thoughts From a Beginning Band Director." He shares video footage of classroom teaching, and lectures about his methods, with other directors through his site, "Sound Beginnings Beginner Band Series." He also has developed and maintained the sites "Band Directors Share," "Southern Illinois Band Directors," and "Illinois Band Director Job Openings." During the 2018-2019 school year alone, Mr. Combs was personally contacted by over 650 band directors from all over the world (phone calls, emails, internet messages) in regards to his free materials, particularly his "rank system," which is now being used in several countries around the globe.

Mr. Combs has written two books for band directors, one on teaching band camp, and one about beginner band curriculum. He shares these and his many other teaching materials for free with other band directors. He has also been published in SBO Magazine (School Band And Orchestra), the online magazine Band Directors Talk Shop, and has a feature episode on the Everything Band podcast.