Dr. Jim Daughters is the Director of Bands at Southeast Missouri State University and was previously the Associate Director of Bands and Music Education Coordinator at Arkansas Tech University. Jim also serves as the Conductor and Artistic Director of the Cincinnati Wind Band, Cincinnati’s professional wind ensemble. Prior to his appointment at SEMO, Jim enjoyed a successful 15-year career as a band director in Kentucky. Daughters has also been an adjunct faculty member and conductor of the Cincinnati Junior Youth Wind Ensemble at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, and he was interim Director of Bands at Xavier University. He holds graduate degrees from the University of Kentucky and was a student of Richard Clary and Cody Birdwell.

Ensembles under Dr. Daughters’ direction have been recognized with invited performances to The Midwest Clinic in Chicago, Music for All National Concert Band Festival, American Music Celebration at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, International Jazz Educators Network Conference, numerous Kentucky and Ohio Music Educators Association State Music Conferences, National Middle School Conference, and the International Women’s Brass Conference. Dr. Daughters has twice been a quarterfinalist for the GRAMMY® Awards National Music Educator of the Year, and he is a three-time recipient of the National Band Association Citation of Excellence. Jim has received Teacher of the Year honors from the Kentucky Music Educators Association District 6, Conner Middle School, and he was recognized as a Teacher Who Made a Difference by the University of Kentucky. While at Arkansas Tech, Daughters was the first faculty member featured on the Human Core virtual series, and he received the ATU Human Resources Service Award in 2020. In 2005, Jim was inducted into the Honorable Order of Kentucky Colonels, the highest honor bestowed by the Governor of Kentucky to a private citizen. He is also a member of Phi Beta Mu, the International Bandmasters’ Fraternity, and an honorary member of Kappa Kappa Psi, Theta Epsilon chapter.

Dr. Daughters has served as a guest conductor, clinician, and adjudicator with middle school, high school, and university bands, regional honor bands and marching contests, and he has presented clinics and demonstrations at The Midwest Clinic and several state music conferences. He has published articles on band pedagogy and march performance practice in music journals and is a past committee chair of the National Band Association Repertoire Committee.

Jim's 275+ arrangements and transcriptions have been performed by a variety of artists and ensembles, including performances by world-renowned trumpeter, Arturo Sandoval. In 2019, Daughters transcribed the landmark timpani solo, Planet Damnation, by award-winning composer, John Psathas. The piece was given its premiere by Kae Reed Hashimoto and the Fillmore Wind Band at WindFest in Cincinnati Music Hall. Dr. Daughters has written and arranged music for some of the nation’s elite high school marching bands, with bands and show designs winning several circuit and state championships, in addition to medaling at Bands of America Regional and Grand National Championships. Jim was also the head clinician for the Kentucky Band Camp (drum major and leadership academy for high school students) for 8 years, and he served as a Drum Major for the University of Kentucky “Wildcat” Marching Band from 1998-2000.