Directors

T. Jonathan Hargis is a native of Gloucester County, Virginia, and resides in the Wicomico section of Gloucester with his wife, Sharon. He is the proud father of Kendall, Hailey, Jackson, and Cora, and grandfather to “Cash” and Wren. Mr. Hargis earned his Bachelor of Science in Instrumental Music Education from Old Dominion University (’83) and a Master of Arts in Curriculum and Instruction from Virginia Tech (’85). While at ODU, he studied saxophone with Dennis Zeisler and later pursued conducting/saxophone studies at Virginia Tech.

Mr. Hargis completed his student teaching under Percy Ironmonger at Tabb High School (’83) and recently retired after a distinguished 40-year career as an instrumental music educator. Over the course of his career, he served as a middle school band director, high school band director, and music coordinator. His professional appointments included positions with Williamsburg-James City County Public Schools, Chesapeake Public Schools, Newport News Public Schools, and his hometown Gloucester County Public Schools. His final teaching assignment was as Director of Bands at Lafayette High School in the Williamsburg-James City County Public Schools, where he spent 15 years leading the program to excellence on both the field and the stage.

Highlights of Mr. Hargis’s tenure as a high school band director include leading ensembles that consistently earned Superior and Excellent ratings at district and state-level Concert Band, Marching Band, and Jazz Ensemble Assessments. He directed high school bands that achieved VBODA Honor Band recognition at Lafayette, Warhill, Western Branch, Woodside, and Denbigh High Schools. In 1993, while at Denbigh High School, the Marching Patriots participated in the Inaugural Parade for President Bill Clinton, and the Symphonic Band performed at the VMEA Fall Conference. Mr. Hargis is also a recipient of the “Ten-Year Honor Band Director Award” from the Virginia Band and Orchestra Directors Association (VBODA).

Mr. Hargis remains active as a conductor, clinician, and adjudicator. He is a member of NAfME, VMEA, VBODA, Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia, and Phi Beta Mu. He served as the 35th President of the Virginia Band and Orchestra Directors Association (2002–2004) and was recently elected as the 43rd President of the Virginia Music Educators Association, a role he will assume from 2026 to 2028.

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Born and raised in the Shenandoah Valley, Dr. Richard C. Marcus currently serves as Associate Professor/Director of Bands at William & Mary.  He earned a bachelor’s degree in music education from the University of Iowa and graduate degrees in conducting from Butler University and the University of South Carolina.  He has been on the faculties of the College of Charleston and the University of South Carolina Upstate.  He has served as music director of the Peninsula Youth Orchestra, the Charleston Symphony Youth Orchestra, and the Athenaeum Pops Orchestra and has guest conducted the Williamsburg Symphony Orchestra, the Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra, the Indianapolis Brass Choir, the Hendrix College Wind Ensemble, and the All-American Alumni Band, among others.

At William & Mary, Dr. Marcus directs the Wind Ensemble and Chamber Winds and teaches conducting, music theory, and special topics courses.  The William & Mary Wind Ensemble was named a national finalist in the American Prize Competition in 2020, 2021, and 2023.  Dr. Marcus’s research is on the music of Hans Gál, an Austrian composer and scholar banned under National Socialism.  He has presented at the College Music Society’s International Conferences in Belgium and the Baltics, and his publications have appeared in the Journal of the American Viola Society and the WASBE Journal.  His edition of Paul Büttner’s Saturnalia für Blasinstrumente und Pauken (1896/1898) was published by Maxime’s Music in 2022.  Dr. Marcus is a member of CBDNA, WASBE, CMS, Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia, and Pi Kappa Lambda.  He currently serves as past-president of the Mid-Atlantic Chapter of the College Music Society.