DAVID J. McGRATH has directed high school bands the past thirty-five years in the states of Michigan, Georgia, and Texas. He holds a BA from DePauw University and an MA from Eastern Michigan University. He is currently the Director of Bands at Klein Cain High School in Klein, Texas. McGrath also served as Program Coordinator for The Cavaliers Drum and Bugle Corps from 2016-2019.
Concert ensembles under his direction have received numerous honors including: invitations and performances for numerous regional and national concert festivals and clinics (including the 2010 Midwest Clinic, the 2000, 2006 and 2023 National Concert Band Festival, and numerous state music association performances in both Michigan and Georgia). The Plymouth-Canton Educational Park Wind Ensemble had the honor of performing an hour-long concert for President Bill Clinton (1996). The Klein Cain Wind Ensemble has been a UIL Sweepstakes Award Recipient every year since opening in the fall of 2017 and will perform as a featured ensemble at the 2023 Music for All National Concert Band Festival.
Marching bands under his direction have also received many honors which include: eleven appearances at the Michigan state marching band championships (capturing nine state championships); being consistent finalists at Bands of America events (the Lakeland High School Marching Band was named the 1992 BOA Class AA Toledo Regional Champion, the Plymouth-Canton Educational Park Marching Band was named the 1999 BOA Class AAA and Grand National Champion, the Carlton J. Kell High School Marching Band was a ten-time BOA Regional and Super-Regional finalist, and was named the 2010 BOA Jacksonville Regional Champion and 2010 BOA Akron Regional Champion). The Kennesaw Mountain High School Marching Band was named the 2015 Jacksonville, Alabama Regional Champion, and the 2012 and 2014 BOA Class AAA National Champion (selected as a Grand National Championship Finalist Band both of those years). Most recently, the Klein Cain Marching Band has received Division 1 ratings every year (since opening) at the UIL Region 9 Marching Band Evaluation and was a top five finalist at the 2019 USSBA Conroe and Spring Regional Competitions. The Klein Cain Marching Band enjoyed a very successful fall in 2021, being named Grand Champion at the USSBA Houston Regional, and advancing to the UIL 6A State Marching Band Contest (the first time a Klein ISD school advanced to the State Contest in fifteen years).
Mr. McGrath is a six-time recipient of the National Band Association Citation of Excellence and has been named a Claes Nobel Educator of Distinction. He is active as a concert band, marching band, and drum-corps adjudicator and clinician, having judged finals at the Bands of America Grand National Championships, DCI World Championships (having served on the DCI Judge Liaison team during the 2013 season), and Japan Marching Band Championships. He is a member of Phi Beta Mu, the TMEA and the MENC.