Leslie Gilreath
In his 23rd year as Director of Bands at Summerville High School (Summerville, SC), he conducts the Wind Ensembles and serves as Performing Arts Department Chair. A native of Anderson, SC, he earned a music theory degree from Furman University, studying conducting and orchestration with Jay Bocook, and later studied composition and orchestration at the University of Oklahoma with Michael Hennagin and Carolyn Bremer.
He has received National Band Association Citations of Excellence and Citations of Merit for Marching Excellence, is a National Board Certified Teacher, and was named Summerville High School Teacher of the Year (2011) and a Dorchester District Honor Teacher of the Year. Summerville’s concert ensembles consistently earn superior ratings and have performed at SCMEA and MENC Southern Division conferences. The Summerville Marching Band has earned 12 SCBDA 5A Championship medals since 2004 and won six state championships, and the Competitive Performance Ensemble has been a Bands of America Regional and Super Regional finalist.
Michael Shiverdecker
is in his second year as Associate Director of Bands at Summerville High School and his third year with Dorchester District Two Fine Arts. He directs the Summerville Competitive Performance Ensemble, conducts the concert band, and assists with the symphonic band, wind ensemble, and chamber ensembles. Prior to joining Summerville High School, he taught for two years at Gregg Middle School with Susan Bocook, where the band program grew to more than 300 students and consistently earned high marks at state and regional festivals.
After several years in the automotive industry, he moved to the Summerville area in 2011 and later built a private woodwind studio of more than 40 students, with students earning chairs in South Carolina All-State and Region bands. He has also worked nationwide as a clinician with marching bands and indoor percussion ensembles. An oboist, he has performed with the Palmetto Concert Band, Poinsett Wind Symphony, and North Charleston Pops!, and is a founding board member of the Charleston Wind Symphony. His professional affiliations include NAfME, the International Double Reed Society, and Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia. He lives in Summerville with his wife, Jennifer, and their cats, Hazy and Leo.
Bill Register
Bill brings a broad professional background as an educator, performer, entrepreneur, and former member of the United States Marine Corps, where he served in the USMC music program. In 1990, he earned his undergraduate degree from the University of South Carolina, studying with Distinguished Professor Emeritus James A. Hall, Sr. While at USC, he performed with the symphonic band and percussion ensemble, arranged percussion for The Carolina Band, and also performed with the South Carolina Philharmonic.
That same year, he began his long association with Carolina Crown Drum and Bugle Corps, serving in several leadership roles, including Percussion Caption Head/Arranger, Program Coordinator, Staff Coordinator, and Director of Operations. During his tenure, Carolina Crown won the 1993 DCI Division II World Championship and made its first DCI Top 12 appearance in 1995. In 1997, he became Director of Percussion at Fort Mill High School, where he built a nationally recognized program whose percussion ensemble won two Winter Guard International Scholastic Concert World Championships. In 2005, he founded Marching Monk, a company providing music, design, and program coordination services for marching arts programs, named in honor of his boxer, Monk. Today, he most often performs with his two younger boxers, Tucker and Ollie.