BY DR. CARL MAULTSBY, GUEST WRITER TO THE TIMES
ORLANDO – When Jones High School (JHS) students return to class in less than a month on August 10, 2023, they will be greeted by a completely restaffed music department. Leading the legendary nationally renowned Jones High School Concert Choir (JHSCC) into its second century as one of Orlando’s oldest cultural institutions and stabilizing organizations of the Parramore Community is Mr. Tarin Davies.
Of Davis, JHS Principal Orlando Norwood stated, “I am proud to announce the appointment of Mr. Tarin Davies as the new Choral Director at the Great Jones High School. The selection committee, (comprised of Andrea Green, Dr. Jeffery Redding, Dr. Chevalier Lovett and myself), was impressed with Mr. Davies’s list of accomplishments, including being an outstanding intern at Jones High School while in college at University of Central Florida (UCF), where he majored in Music Education, K-12, focusing on Secondary Choral. Originally from Irvington, NJ, Mr. Davies grew up in Kissimmee, FL, and we are glad to be able to keep him in the community. We are excited about the future of our Choral program and the outstanding students who will learn under Mr. Davies’s leadership.”
Davies brings to the JHS program what he describes as “a new perspective” shaped by a “generational, younger and positive outlook.” Davies is the son of immigrant parents, Charim Davies, a native of Jamaica, and Tilden Davies, a native of Sierra Leone. Prior to the Davies’s family move from Irvington, NJ, Tarin attended Catholic school. In his relocated home of Kissimmee, Davies attended Osceola County Public Schools’ Parkway Middle School and Gateway High School from where upon graduation he enrolled at Valencia College and earned an Associates in Arts General Studies degree. After Valencia College, Davies earned in 2023 his Bachelor of Music Education from UCF where he came under the tutelage of JHS 1988 alumnus and Grammy Music Educator Award winner, Dr. Jeffery Redding.
Dr. Redding opines, “To say I am proud of Tarin Davies is an understatement! As my former student at UCF and current singer in Orlando Choral Society, I find Tairn to be brilliant, talented, inspiring, and a community builder. I have no doubt Tarin will continue the great tradition of choirs at the mighty Jones High School. The legacy of Mrs. Edna Hargrett and Darlene Coleman will live on.”
Of her successor, Mrs. Green (JHS Concert Choir Director, 2011-2023) adds, “There is no success without a successor. Congratulations to Mr. Tarin Davies as the new Choral Director of the Jones High School Concert Choir. As an intern under the direction of [yours truly], he demonstrated he is sure to continue the standard of choral excellence that has already been established and honor the legacy and tradition of Jones High School.”
Davies already has begun living up to the Jones legacy. Last week he led a choral camp at Jones that culminated in a mini-concert.
Earlier in the summer, Norwood announced the appointment of Naomi Joy Nelson as the successor to Band Director, Rufus Redding. Redding who worked at JHS for 34 years as both band and later orchestra director decided “at 65 years old it was time to pursue personal goals.” Similarly, personal goals were voiced as retirement reasons by Green and Bruce Green (JHS Director of Bands, 2019-2023). The Greens, a wife and husband team, will now pursue full time their eight years of ministry as pastors of Fresh Anointing Worship Center, Eatonville, FL.
In the words of Principal Norwood, “Please join me and the entire Tiger Family in welcoming Mr. Davies to the great Jones High School!”
