SWD Bands

James O. Seda is currently the Director of Bands at Southwest Dekalb High School. He is a product of the Atlanta Public School System, having graduated from Southside Comprehensive High School. Mr. Seda received his Bachelors of Science Degree in Music Education from Florida A&M University. While there, he studied conducting with Dr. William P. Foster and Dr. Julian E. White. He was also in the trumpet studio of Dr. Marty Robinson. Mr. Seda is currently enrolled in the Masters of Music Education Program at Northern Illinois University in Dekalb, Illinois.

​

Mr. Seda has been the Director of Bands at Southwest Dekalb High School since 2001. Prior to that he served as Assistant Director of Bands at Chapel Hill Middle School for two years, the primary feeder school to Southwest Dekalb High School, also assisting with the band program at Southwest Dekalb simultaneously. Mr. Seda is a member of Kappa Kappa Psi National Honorary Band Fraternity, Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia Fraternity, The International Trumpet Guild, Georgia Music Educators Association, Music Educators National Conference, Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, the Screen Actor’s Guild and MACE. Mr. Seda was The STAR Teacher for Southwest Dekalb High School in 2005-2006 and has been recognized and honored by Who’s Who Among America’s Teachers multiple times.

​

While attending Florida A&M University, Mr. Seda was a very active musician. He held the principal trumpet chair in the FAMU Wind Ensemble and Symphonic Band, and the lead trumpet chair in the FAMU Jazz Ensemble. As a member of the world famous ‘Marching 100′ Mr. Seda served as trumpet section leader for two years, as well as being elected business manager, vice-president, and president in consecutive years.

Mr. Seda has performed in Paris, France, The Montreaux Jazz Festival in Montreaux, Switzerland and the North Seas Jazz Festival in The Haag, Holland. He has also performed in St. Thomas, Virgin Islands.

 

Television and radio features are also to his credit as CNN displayed his talents in a television documentary on the life of jazz musician Jesse Stone. He has done studio sessions for television and radio commercials, as well as short films and movies. Mr. Seda also worked on the 20th Century Fox motion picture DRUMLINE as a music arranger, band organizer, instrumentalist, and actor extra.

Mr. Seda is active as a trumpet and band clinician and an adjudicator. He is also maintaining an active performance schedule, frequenting the jazz scene throughout the southeastern United States. Music has impacted and molded Mr. Seda’s life, and he feels that he should share and expose his knowledge and experiences with his students so they may have the same opportunities. His educational philosophy is to foster a true understanding and appreciation of music by exposing his students to its many styles, therefore making them competitive and adaptive in any musical situation.