How Donovan Wells Created a New Generation of Music Leaders

Founding Editor at The Ave

Stephen Holmes

This past February, people from all over flocked to Atlanta to witness a collection of some of the finest HBCU and High school marching bands in the nation. The HBCU Allstar Battle of the Bands was one of the most anticipated marching events this year as it featured an impressive lineup of elite marching band units.

After each band was done, their respective directors was briefly interviewed and asked questions about the experience and their programs. Bethune-Cookman had just finished closing out what many considered a great show. The interviewer pulled Donovan Wells aside and asked him, “How does it feel to close out the show?” With a playful grin, Wells responded, “It’s always good to be the headliner”. As far back as early 2000, Wells knows all too well about headlining big events. During their 10+ year run at the Honda Battle of the Bands, they were the final act nearly every year.

The consistency that this program has displayed over the past 20 years is nearly unmatched. We’ve seen many programs, grow, shrink, get suspended, lose band directors, or lose their programs all together. Not Bethune-Cookman. They have been the standard bearer in HBCU bands because of the leadership of Donovan Wells.

If you’ve been anywhere close to the Marching Wildcats, you understand that the program is run like a well-oiled Fortune 500 company. Although Wells’ has a firm grip on nearly every aspect of the program, he relies on his staff and students to handle the day-to-day operations. Once he’s got everyone’s buy-in, they all go out and execute with near surgical precision. It’s a system that has afforded them appearances on nearly every major media outlet.

A New Generation

I don’t think we fully appreciate the work Donovan Wells has put in to building a top program while grooming the next era of power brokers. Look no further then Dr. Gregory Drane who has ascended to become the Director of the Blue Band at Penn State University. Drane, a graduate of Bethune-Cookman was a member of the Marching Wildcats during its most influential era, the early 2000’s. In a lot of ways, Drane represented the first fruits of the labor provided by a reinvented program under Wells’ leadership. Although Drane’s success didn’t happen overnight, it was apparent early on the he was destined for greater. Drane worked his way through the ranks and proved himself worthy to lead a Power 5 mainstay.

Monica Fogg a 2002 graduate, replaced longtime coordinator and FAMU grad, Don P. Roberts as the Music Coordinator for Dekalb county in Atlanta, Georgia. Like Drane, Fogg worked her way through the ranks as a band director and will now get the opportunity to influence the next wave of musicians in the Greater Atlanta area. These stories are just a microcosm of an ever-growing Donovan Wells leadership tree. The list grows as more B-CU Department of Music graduates inherit programs and obtain positions that help reaffirm the quality of candidates that continue to come from this music program.

Kedrick Redding has also been on an upward trajectory. He started his collegiate tenure at Edward Waters but make no mistake, Redding has run the gamut. He began at the Middle School level and has strategically positioned himself as the Assistant Director at Texas Southern University. It’s only a matter of time before he’s called on to lead a power program of his own.

While not a band director, Jeffrey Coachman is making an impact as well. He’s a graduate and former section leader of B-CU’s Sudden Impact drumline. Coachman founded of the Coachman Percussion Camp in South Florida. This annual camp has grown into one of the biggest percussion camps in the state. Many of its attendees end up as top percussionist in collegiate drumlines. Coachman will tell you he is a disciple of the legendary Percussion Instructor, Pedro Orey. However, his ability to put together a successful camp can be traced back to his experience with the Marching Wildcats.

Dexter Bailey and Lynel Goodwin who are also graduates, have built high school programs that would make some HBCU’s envious. They both have garnered attention and strong support from their communities. They both share in their acclaim and have helped reenergize a hot bed of marching band talent, Atlanta, Georgia.

Goodwin will be taking his program to the Macy’s day parade this November, where his energetic group of kids out of Jonesboro, Georgia will put on a show that will be seen by millions of people. Dexter Bailey is just as impressive. He’s built the program at Creekside High as one of the top programs in all of Metro Atlanta. Bailey has also been invited to be the guest conductor for the Dekalb 9^th and 10^th grade honor band. They too come from the Donovan Wells director tree.

In the HBCU rich DMV area, Chris Mosely has developed into a distinguished leader in Virginia as an Education Specialist for Performing Arts. He supports over 70 schools in Henrico County and has received numerous awards for his leadership. Mosely is also the conductor for the Richmond Youth symphony.

The Palm Beach Lakes Ram Regiment, led by Joshua Velez, maintains its position as a well-known high school program in Florida. Velez has created a strong pipeline to Bethune-Cookman’s program where many of his students’ become leaders at the collegiate level. We’re watching the result of an iconic leader fill a pipeline of some of the nation’s finest musical leaders. This has been a 30-year investment paying off in front of our very eyes.

While we have mentioned some notable Marching Wildcat alumni, there is no shortage of names that have come from Donovan Wells’ leadership. Many of them are working hard in the music industry and these are just a few examples. But make no mistake: they’ve all drawn on their time with the Marching Wildcats. Precision, discipline, and attention to detail are all characteristics of a Donovan Wells-led program. Many of the characteristics that we have come to expect from the Marching Wildcats are also transferrable talents that may be used in any career setting.

This group of emerging leaders and great thinkers in HBCU and grade school music are among the best. However, Bethune Cookman educators were once overlooked. No, not today. The music program at Bethune-Cookman University has produced a large network of educators and leaders in the arts. Many of them will attribute some of their success to their time at B-CU, specifically their time in the band under the direction of Mr. Donovan Wells. While we know he enjoys seeing his band as the headline act, watching his previous students become headliners in their own right has to make him feel just as good, if not better.

All Hail to Thee.