Jeffrey A. Mayo

Director, Brighton High School Band

Jeffrey A. Mayo is the director of bands at Brighton High School. He has a long history with Brighton Band as a former student, staff member, and current director.

Mr. Mayo received his Master of Music in Music Education Degree from Anderson University (SC), where he graduated with a 4.0-grade point average.  He also received an honors bachelor’s degree in music from the University of Memphis, where he graduated with the distinction of Summa Cum Laude.  Mr. Mayo has served as director of bands at Brighton High School since 2022.  Prior to his appointment, he served as the director of bands at Brighton Middle School and assistant director of bands at Brighton High School for a decade.  While attending the University of Memphis, Mr. Mayo served as an adjunct staff member for the Brighton Band and as a spring training instructor for the University of Memphis drumline.  Mr. Mayo has studied music and education under Jon Young, Jonathan Findley, Dr. Nicholas Holland, Dr. Kraig Alan Williams, Dr. Albert Nguyen, Dr. Pu-Qi Jiang, Dr. David Perry, and Dr. Christopher Hansen.  Mr. Mayo has studied percussion performance under Dr. Frank Shaffer and has studied flute as a secondary instrument under Leah Wilson. 

At Brighton, Mr. Mayo works in virtually all areas, including marching band, concert band, jazz band, chamber ensembles, percussion, and winter programs; he also serves as a designer, arranger, composer, and choreographer for the program. In the classroom, Mr. Mayo is a firm believer in setting high expectations, hard work, and the concept of remaining focused. Mr. Mayo’s goal is to provide students with a high-quality music education where they can become higher-order thinkers, develop life skills, obtain scholarships to college, and reach new levels of musicianship that students did not believe were previously obtainable.

Mr. Mayo is a member of the West Tennessee Band Orchestra Association, the Tennessee Music Educators Association, the National Association for Music Education, the Mid-South Flute Society, and the Association of Composers, Authors, and Publishers. Mr. Mayo has served as a clinician/consultant/designer for numerous southern United States bands, has judged both concert and marching events, and is a Vic Firth artist. Mr. Mayo received judged training from Dr. Joe Allison. He has presented educational clinics at several universities and conferences, including the University of Memphis, Georgia Southern University, the West Tennessee Band Orchestra Association Convention, and the Tennessee Music Educators Association Convention. Mr. Mayo still actively performs throughout the Mid-South area and composes music for a variety of ensembles.  In 2024, he served as an honor band clinician at the Christian Brothers Honor Band and was named Music Educator of the Year by the University of Memphis Rudi E. Scheidt School of Music. In 2017, Mr. Mayo received the honors of Teacher of the Year at Brighton Middle School and the Outstanding Young Music Educator Award from the Tennessee Music Educators Association. In his spare time, Mr. Mayo reads about education, music, and psychology.   He also creates educational resources for his website, dabbles with music technology, and spends time composing.