Cormac Cannon is Director of Bands and Associate Professor of Music at the University of South Carolina, where he conducts the USC Wind Ensemble, guides the graduate wind conducting program, and oversees all aspects of the band program. He is also the 3rd Music Director and Conductor in the history of the esteemed Palmetto Concert Band. During his time at USC, ensembles under his direction have given feature performances at the College Band Directors National Association National Conference (2023), the CBDNA Southern Division Conference (2018, 2022), and the South Carolina Music Educators Association Annual Conference (2018, 2024). Cannon currently serves on the Board of Directors of CBDNA. His appointment as Director of Bands follows four years as Associate Director of Bands and Director of Athletic Bands, during which time the Carolina Band enjoyed record enrollment and was a featured performer at the CBDNA National Conference. As a passionate proponent of new music, Cannon has commissioned and premiered works by composers including Joel Puckett, Frank Ticheli, Ricardo Lorenz, Omar Thomas, Han Lash, Jennifer Jolley, James Stephenson, James M. David, Timothy Mahr, Dan Welcher, John Fitz Rogers, and David Kirkland Garner, among others. Cormac’s students in the wind conducting program at USC have gone on to secure notable teaching positions at colleges and universities as well as continued study in some of the nation’s top conducting programs.

Previously, Cannon served for six years on the music faculty at Michigan State University. He earned the Doctor of Musical Arts degree in conducting at the University of Texas at Austin in 2009. He received the Master of Music degree in wind conducting from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, and the Bachelor of Music degree in percussion performance and music education from the University of Iowa. From 2001-2005 Cannon served as director of bands at Williamsburg High School in Williamsburg, Iowa, and from 2006-2007 was music director and conductor of the Cincinnati Youth Wind Ensemble.

Cannon has a diverse background as a conductor, composer, arranger, lecturer, and author. He has been a featured presenter at numerous state and national music conferences, including the Midwest Clinic. Dr. Cannon is co-author of The Complete Marching Band Resource Manual, published by University of Pennsylvania Press. He is featured in Composers on Composing for Band Volume IV and has contributed to the Teaching Music Through Performance in Band series, both published by GIA Music.

Cormac resides in Lexington, SC with his wife Laura, a pharmacist, and their three sons, Colton, Bailey, and Greyson.