Elementary Music Lead

Pleasant Garden Elementary

Middle School Chorus Lead

Eastern Guilford Middle School

Jimmy Buchanan is the director of choirs and theatre at Eastern Guilford Middle School in Gibsonville, NC. Jimmy started his career in Music Education studying at Lenoir-Rhyne College in Hickory NC in 1987. After leaving LR, he spent several years teaching in the private school setting in Morganton, NC. While in Morganton, NC, he began working in Freedom High School as the ISS director. In January of 2000, He returned to college at Appalachian State University in Boone, NC. While at ASU, he received his Bachelor’s of Music Education in the winter of 2002. He returned to ASU for his Master’s degree in Choral Music Education in the spring of 2003, and graduated in the summer of 2004.

While at ASU, Mr. Buchanan became a Cratis D Williams Scholarship recipient, and was bestowed with several Scholarship and Awards from The Mariam Cannon Hayes School of Music, as well as the SAI Fraternity. He graduated with Honors in Education, and was included on the Dean’s list for most of the semesters at the University.

Mr. Buchanan Joined the team of Cannon Music Camp in the summer of 2000 as counselor. He has been with the camp as a counselor for 24 consecutive summers, and has risen in the ranks to Leadership Team for the camp.

Mr. Buchanan began working in GCS in the elementary music level in the fall of 2004. After two years, he moved to Eastern Guilford Middle School in 2006. While at Eastern Guilford Middle School, he has served as the Chair of the Encore Department, and has served on the School Based Leadership Team as a member, and several terms as Chair. He has his Administrator’s license from Gardner Webb College. He has also acted as the GCS MS All County Chorus Clinician in 2015. He is now acting as the Co-Lead Middle School Chorus Lead Teacher for the past 2 Years.

High School Chorus Lead

Southwest Guilford High School

Catherine Butler is a graduate of The University of North Carolina at Greensboro with bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Music Education. She began her career at Penn-Griffin School for the Arts in 2003 and is currently the choral director and piano instructor at Southwest Guilford High School in High Point, NC. Her choral ensembles consistently earn Superior ratings at Music Performance Adjudication in both performance and sightreading. Her students participate in GCS All-County Choruses and NC All-State Chorus and are regularly selected for NC High School Honors Chorus, Mars Hill Honor Choir, Wingate University All-Carolina Select Choirs and NC Governor’s School in Choral Music. Catherine has served as a clinician for several All-County Choruses. She is the current President of NCMEA. Previously, she served on the NCMEA Middle School Choral Board as a member-at-large, secretary, and section chair. She currently coordinates Honors Chorus auditions for the Central District for both middle and high school and is an active adjudicator for Middle School Choral MPA. She frequently hosts student teachers and interns from local universities. She is an active accompanist for other school choral programs and theater departments. She lives in Greensboro with her wife Sarah Downey, who is also a high school choral director, and their two dogs Piper and Oliver.  

Dance Lead

Penn-Griffin School for the Arts

Amelia Renee Byrd (Memphis, TN) holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree in Theatre/Dance and a Bachelor of Professional Studies alongside a teaching licensure in K-12 Dance Education from the University of Memphis. Amelia was formerly the Dance Educator at Colonial Middle School for the Creative and Performing Arts and a member of Project: Motion Dance Collective in Memphis, TN from 2008-2011. Amelia has presented work with Project: Motion, the University of Memphis Theatre and Dance Department, the UNC-Greensboro School of Dance, Playhouse on the Square’s Summer Youth Theatre Conservatory and the Greensboro Fringe Festival. Amelia is a 2014 graduate of UNC-Greensboro, receiving a Master of Fine Arts Degree in Dance/Choreography and is currently working as the Dance Educator at Penn-Griffin School for the Arts in High Point, NC where she also serves as co-lead Dance Educator for Guilford County Schools. Amelia was a member of JOYEMOVEMENT, a dance company in Greensboro, NC having performed for four seasons (2014-2018). Amelia is also a 4th year board member for the North Carolina Dance Education Organization (NCDEO) serving in the position of Dance Advocacy. Amelia most recently presented a piece entitled Womanifesto in the North Carolina Dance Festival.

Secondary Band Lead

Page High School

Eddie Deaton currently holds the position of Director of Bands at his alma mater, Walter Hines Page High School in Greensboro, NC, a post he has held since August 2008. He directs the school’s concert bands, jazz band, percussion ensemble and marching band, as well as the pit orchestra for the annual Spring Musical. While at Page, Mr. Deaton’s band students have consistently earned spots in honor bands in central North Carolina and achieved multiple Superior ratings at Music Performance Adjudication events. His marching and jazz bands have performed at numerous community events in Greensboro, including parades, football games, professional conferences and corporate events. Prior to his appointment at Page, Mr. Deaton was the Band Director at Jordan-Matthews High School, Chatham Middle School and Silk Hope School in Chatham County, NC from 2005 - 2008.

Mr. Deaton previously served as the President of the Central District Bandmasters Association, a subdivision of the North Carolina Bandmasters Association that coordinates and runs honor band auditions, concert band festivals and other professional and student opportunities throughout the year. Previous to his election, he served for several years as an at-large member of the executive board of directors, and currently serves as the district’s high school auditions chair. He has been honored to receive the district’s “Band Director of the Year” award twice (2017 and 2021), as voted on by his peers. While at Page High School, Mr. Deaton has been the recipient of the schools Teacher of the Year Award (2016-17) as well as the Page Spirit Award (2015-16), given annually to the faculty member that best exemplifies dedication to promoting a positive school culture at Page High School. He serves on and chairs the school’s Leadership Team, a post he has held for nine years over the past decade. Mr. Deaton is currently in his third year as the lead band director for Guilford County Schools.

A native of Greensboro, NC, Mr. Deaton grew up as a musician in the bands at Mendenhall Middle School and Walter Hines Page High School, under the direction of Keith Burroughs and Edwin Kimbrough. Mr. Deaton holds a Bachelor of Music (with Distinction) in Music Education with a second major in United States History from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he regularly performed as a member of the university’s Symphonic Band, Wind Ensemble, Symphony Orchestra, Marching Band and in the Crown Royals Brass Quintet. He studied Horn Performance with Pamela Halverson and Kimberly Van Pelt, as well as conducting with professors Tonu Kalam and Michael Votta. Mr. Deaton also received a Master of Arts in Teaching from UNC-Chapel Hill, during which time he interned with Steven Lytle at East Chapel Hill High School.

Elementary VIsual Art Lead

Sedalia Elementary

Dance Lead

Eastern Guilford High School

High School Chorus Lead

Grimsley High School

Elementary Visual Art Lead

Pilot Elementary School

Popular Music Education Lead

Weaver Academy

K-12 Orchestra Lead

Mendenhall Middle School

Middle School Art Lead

Eastern Guilford Middle

Theatre Arts Lead

Southeast Guilford High School

HIgh School Visual Art Lead

Piano & Guitar Lead