Dr. William Allen previously served as the Director of Bands at South Oak Cliff High School. He will return to the position starting this school year. Photos courtesy of William Allen.
Grammy Award-winning music educator William Allen is returning to South Oak Cliff High School, starting this upcoming school year.
With over a decade of experience, Allen will once again lead the Nu Soul of the South marching band. He previously served as the band director from fall 2019 to spring 2023, bringing the program to national prominence when the band received the 2021 GRAMMY Museum Signature Schools Award.
As one of the highest honors in outstanding achievement in school music education, the award celebrated the dedication of students, staff, families and community that have long supported the program’s tradition of excellence, according to a press release.
Allen said that he really feels connected to the SOC band program because that’s where he built a name for himself.
“The principal of the school (Willie F. Johnson), he reached out, and a couple other former staff members, they reached out and were like ‘Hey, we’d love to have you back in South Oak Cliff,’” he said. “‘Just keep an open mind, as far as doing it for the kids, they really miss you. The community really misses you.’”
Allen was still involved locally despite having left the school system. He is the founder and executive director of Texas Supremacy of Music Arts Conservatory (TSMAC), a nonprofit dedicated to providing world class music and dance education for youth throughout North Texas.
Through his return to the role as SOC’s director of bands, Allen will get to continue his work in the nonprofit as well.
“I will still oversee the programs and the initiatives that the nonprofit has going on. Now I have a closer connection with the Dallas ISD and the communities that Dallas ISD serves to be able to do even more with the nonprofit organization,” Allen said. “Now I can have those face-to-face conversations with those directors or coaches that teach the arts and the different schools at the different levels, elementary through high school, and then also just mention like ‘Hey, I’m one of you guys as well. I’m a director, and I’m an employee of Dallas ISD.’”
As far as goals for the program, Allen wants to support well-rounded musicians.
“I want to make sure our students, the new students that are participating this year, are well versed when it comes to not only marching band, but concert season, jazz band season, solo and ensemble, region band,” he said.
Allen added that, having left SOC, he now has a view of the program as an outsider looking in and can identify where he needs to invest for the band to grow.
Specifically, he said he became more aware of missing resources.
“A lot of times when people get positions as far as a director or even a teacher, we are educated and taught to operate in the perfect conditions, but we never were really taught how to teach in the trenches,” he said.
Allen plans to achieve those goals by reaching out to community members for support, whether that’s for school supplies or the transportation needs of the students.
“We’re going to make sure that we provide all resources for all of our students to be successful, regardless of background,” he said.
