Directors

D. Vincent Clayton | Director of Bands

D. Vincent Clayton has been Director of Bands at Ridge View High School since the school opened in 1995. He received both the Bachelor of Music Education and Master of Music Education degrees from the University of South Carolina and has taught in South Carolina for twenty-four years.

Under his direction, the Ridge View band program has quadrupled in size and has received numerous Superior Ratings and awards in marching and concert events. The Blazer Marching Band is a consistent finalist at the South Carolina State Championships and at several Bands of America Regional competitions. The Ridge View Symphonic Band has received numerous Superior Ratings at state and national events. They have performed at the Grand National Adjudicators Invitational, twice at the South Carolina Music Educators State Convention, twice at the University of South Carolina Band Clinic, the University of Southern Mississippi Band Clinic, and at the Bands of America National Concert Festival.

His professional affiliations include the Music Educators National Conference; the South Carolina Music Educators Association; a past board member of the South Carolina Band Directors Association; Phi Beta Mu; Pi Kappa Lambda; and is a past president of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia. He is also a charter member and Past President of the Palmetto Concert Band. Mr. Clayton has received the National Band Association’s Citation of Excellence on four different occasions, and has been awarded the Legion of Honor from the John Philip Sousa Foundation.

Mr. Clayton and his wife Leslie have two children, Grant and Kelsey.

Leah Cordé | Assistant Director

Leah Cordé is a native of York, SC and a graduate of York Comprehensive High School. Mrs. Cordé attended the University of South Carolina and graduated Magna Cum Laude in 1998 with a Bachelor of Music Degree in Music Education. Her saxophone teachers include Dr. Cliff Leaman and Mr. Doug Graham.

Mrs. Cordé began her teaching career in Spartanburg School District 7. There, she taught band at Carver Junior High School, five elementary schools, and served as the Colorguard Instructor at Spartanburg High School. From the fall of 2000 to the spring of 2006, Mrs. Cordé was the Associate Director of Bands at Sumter High School. During her tenure there, all three concert bands and the marching band consistently received Excellent and Superior ratings at SCBDA events. Bands under her direction have performed at the South Carolina Music Educators Association Convention as well as the Grand National Adjudicators Invitational. Mrs. Cordé is currently the Associate Director of Bands at Kelly Mill Middle School.

Mrs. Cordé is a member of the National Band Association, the International Association for Jazz Education, the Music Educators National Conference, the South Carolina Music Educators Association, the South Carolina Band Directors Association and Pi Kappa Lambda. As a saxophonist, Mrs. Cordé is an active member of the Palmetto Concert Band. She, her husband Chris and their daughter Hannah, live in Columbia, SC.

Brian Wargel | Assistant Director

Brian Wargel is a 1996 graduate of Lexington High School in Lexington, SC and a 2000 graduate of Indiana University in Bloomington, IN. Mr. Wargel holds a Bachelor Degree in Music Education and is currently in his eighth year of teaching. He is formerly the director of the Clovis High School Freshman Campus Band, Marshall Junior High Bands, Assistant Band Director to the Clovis High School Band program in Clovis, NM and Kirby Middle School in Memphis, TN. Bands under his direction have earned consistent superior ratings at both the district and state levels.

Mr. Wargel has studied trombone under Ed Anderson, Carl Lenthe, M. Dee Stewart, and Charlie Vernon. He has performed with Star of Indiana’s Brass Theater, The Mercedes Knights Memphis big band, the Bellvue Baptist Church Orchestra, and the Clovis Community Band. He is a member of Music Educators National Conference (MENC), South Carolina Band Directors Association (SCBDA), and the International Trombone Association (ITA).

He currently lives in Columbia, SC with his wife Jennifer and three children, Christopher, Emma and Piper.