Title: Band Director
Company: Brooks County High School
Location: Valdosta, GA
Education: BM in Music Education, Cum Laude, The University of Georgia (2021)
Career History: Band Director, Brooks County High School (2021-Present); Facility Rental Assistant, State Botanical Garden of Georgia (2019-2021); Band Camp Instructor, Hart County High School (2019); Teacher, The String Project (2018)
Miaka Kemp, Band Director at Brooks County High School, has been recognized as a Marquis Emerging Leader for their contributions and achievements in the field of education.
A gifted teacher and musician, Ms. Kemp has excelled in “striking up the band” in her role at Brooks County High School in Georgia, where she educates, guides students in expressing themselves through music, and directs members of the marching band—preparing them to perform during football games and beyond. In the role since 2021, she enjoys spreading her passion for music to young people, helping them to develop their skills, find value in making music together, and get better every day. Playing music herself in middle and high school was life-changing and inspiring, so much so that she wished to devote her career to extending that experience and paying it forward to future generations.
Prior to landing her current position, Ms. Kemp balanced a part-time job as a facility rental assistant at the State Botanical Garden of Georgia, where she worked from 2019 to 2021, and being a student at the University of Georgia, where she ultimately graduate cum laude with a Bachelor of Music in Music Education in 2021. While in pursuit of her degree, she established herself by serving as the rank leader of the university’s marching band and chair of the Kappa Kappa Psi National Honorary Band Fraternity. To this day, she works with the Redcoat Band Alumni Association, which is preparing for its 50th anniversary. Additional past experience includes being a band camp instructor at Hart County High School and a teacher with the String Project—which specializes in violins, violas, and cellos.
This upcoming fall, Ms. Kemp plans to prepare her marching band to perform against other bands at a variety of competitions across the state and eventually hopes to take the ensemble to nationally acclaimed festivals, such as the Georgia Music Educators Association Conference. Most of all, she wants to continue providing a place for students at school where they can feel good and creative. When Ms. Kemp isn’t shaping young minds in the music room, she enjoys playing clarinet in a local community band and a game of Dungeons & Dragons.