Gary Langford

R. Gary Langford is Professor of Music Emeritus at the University of Florida in Gainesville. He came to the University in 1971 as Assistant Director of Bands and Professor of Trumpet. He received the Bachelor of Science Degree in Music Education from Bucknell University in Lewisburg, Pa., and the Master of Music degree in Trumpet Performance from the University of North Texas where he was a member and soloist with the famed One O'Clock (Jazz) Lab Band. He also was principal trumpet in the UNT Orchestra and performed extensively with the UNT Brass Quintet. His responsibilities at the University of Florida have included Concert Band, Jazz Band, Marching Band, teaching in the areas of Music History and Music Theory, and also served as the Assistant Director of the School of Music until his retirement in 2007. In 1996, having completed 25 years with the UF Marching Band, the Pride of the Sunshine. Mr. Langford is an accomplished arranger with over 400 arrangements for marching band tailored for the Pride of the Sunshine and the Swamp at Florida Field. His published compositions have appeared in the catalogues of Hansen Music, C. L. Barnhouse, Carl Fischer and Columbia Pictures.

He has held offices in the International Association of Jazz Educators, Florida Unit, and was selected by that organization as the 1982-1983 Outstanding Jazz Educator. He has been honored three times by the University of Florida as the Teacher of the Year from the College of Fine Arts, is a recipient of a TIP award for excellence in teaching and has twice been a finalist for the prestigious UF Alumni Association Distinguished Professor Award. In 1997 he was honored as the Musician of the Year by the Foundation For The Promotion of Music and was selected as the 1998 College Music Educator of the Year for the state of Florida by the Florida Music Educators Association. He has been recognized as an Outstanding Educator of America, been selected for Who's Who in the South and in 1999 was awarded the prestigious Distinguished Service to Music Medal by Kappa Kappa Psi, the national band fraternity and in 2006 was selected as the Co- Teacher of the Year for the University of Florida. In 2012 he was named a Jazz Hero by the Jazz Journalists Association as someone who is an activist, advocate, altruist, aider, and abettor of jazz who has had a significant impact on his or her local community. Most recently he was inducted into the Florida Bandmasters Association Roll of Distinction, the most prestigious award from that association.