George N. Parks

George Nathan Parks (May 23, 1953 – September 16, 2010) was the director of the University of Massachusetts Minuteman Marching Band at University of Massachusetts Amherst from 1977 until 2010. He also led the George N. Parks Drum Major Academy, a summer workshop program for high school drum majors that he founded in 1978.

Early life and education

Parks was born on 23 May, 1953 in Buffalo, New York and grew up in Newark, Delaware graduating from Christiana High School in 1971. He earned a bachelor's degree from West Chester University, where he was the drum major in the West Chester University Golden Rams Marching Band. At West Chester, Parks was initiated into the Rho Sigma chapter of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia. After college he earned a master's degree in tuba performance at Northwestern University.

Career

Drum corps

Parks made his first appearance on the national scene as Drum Major of the award-winning Reading Buccaneers Drum and Bugle Corps. He helped lead the Buccaneers to two DCA Championships, in 1979 and 1980, and received numerous individual honors, including eight DCA Championship Drum Major Awards. In 1976, while working as a graduate assistant under John P. Paynter at Northwestern University, he was instrumental in bringing the first color guard/flag corp to the Big Ten.