JesseLSuggs

Jesse L. Suggs, Jr. is a graduate of North Carolina Central University in Durham, North Carolina. He retired in June 2000 and taught part-time in Guilford County Schools until the fall of 2003 when he returned to teaching until June of 2014. Mr. Suggs, currently teaches private lessons. As the former director of the Ben L. Smith High School Orchestra, the Jamestown Middle School and Northwest Middle Orchestras, which he founded and the Northern Guilford Middle School Orchestra, Mr. Suggs extended their musical ambassadorship over 65,892 miles including Dallas, Atlanta, New Orleans , San Antonio Texas, Bahamas, Jamaica, Hawaii, Australia and Singapore. The Smith Orchestra has the state record for the longest non-stop performance by a string orchestra (12 hours, 14 minutes and 29 seconds).

Mr. Suggs took the Northern Guilford Middle School String Orchestra consisting of 6th, 7th and 8th graders to The National Adjudicators Invitational in Richmond, Virginia in April 2014. There they performed three selections of Grade III music, over 14 minutes of music from memory. They received superior ratings from all judges. Performing from memory was a first for the festival.
Mr. Suggs has served as Assistant Conductor for the Greensboro Symphony Youth Orchestra, founder and Music Director of the Jamestown Orchestra, and Co-founder of North Carolina’s 1st Western Region Junior All-State Orchestra in 1992. He has served as Chairman and Secretary-Treasurer of the Orchestra Section and Member-at-Large of the North Carolina Music Educators Association.

Formerly Principal bassist for the Greensboro Philharmonia and the Greensboro Civic Chamber Orchestra, Mr. Suggs also played soprano, alto and tenor saxophones for the Greensboro Jazz Orchestra. Mr. Suggs is active as a clinician, adjudicator and guest conductor. Jesse Suggs was the winner of the Maxine Swalin Award for an Outstanding Music Educator for 2008. This award, sponsored by the North Carolina Symphony, is given annually to a North Carolina music teacher who:
Makes a lasting difference in the lives of students of all abilities and backgrounds Serves the community in an exemplary manner as a role model in music education Instills a love for music in children Inspires students to reach appropriately high musical standards.

With this $1,000 recognition award, the North Carolina Symphony honors Maxine Swalin who, along with her husband Dr. Benjamin Swalin and Conductor from 1939-1972, gathered funds from the General Assembly to establish the children’s concert divisions in 1945. This division of the North Carolina Symphony brings live concerts throughout the year to children statewide. Jesse L. Suggs, Jr. retired for the 2nd time in June 2014 with 45 years of teaching.