Meet the Director
Dr. Charles A. Dumas, Jr. Biography
For the 2025-2026 school year Dr. Dumas served as the Fine Arts Learning Specialist for Horry County Schools, where his duties included overseeing the district’s Fine Arts budget, providing professional development for more than 200 performing and visual arts educators across 59 schools, and coordinating the Fine Arts Gifted and Talented events throughout the district. In this role, he worked to support and strengthen arts education opportunities for students and educators across Horry County.
Prior to joining the district’s Academic Division, Dr. Dumas spent twelve years as Director of Bands at Myrtle Beach High School, where he also served as Department Chair and Auditorium Manager. Under his leadership, the Bands of the Beach performed more than 30 times each year throughout North and South Carolina. Performances included football games, parades, marching band competitions, concert and jazz band concerts, and “Waves of the Future,” a talent showcase hosted by the Rotary Club of Myrtle Beach.
Dr. Dumas earned a Bachelor of Science and Master of Arts degrees in Music Education from the University of North Carolina at Pembroke and a Doctor of Music Education degree from Liberty University. His career as a music educator and conductor spans 38 years across North and South Carolina, including 33 years in public education and five years at Methodist University, where he served as Director of Bands.
For the past eight years, Dr. Dumas has served as Musical Director of the Festive Brass of Myrtle Beach. Modeled after the traditional British Brass Band, Festive Brass serves as a ceremonial music ensemble for the City of Myrtle Beach. In 2021, the ensemble traveled to Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, to perform as part of the 80th Anniversary Commemoration of the attack on Pearl Harbor. In 2024, Festive Brass again had the distinction of representing American veterans when the ensemble traveled to Normandy, France, to perform in commemoration of the 80th Anniversary of the D-Day invasion. These opportunities to represent South Carolina and honor the service and sacrifice of veterans have been among the most meaningful experiences of Dr. Dumas’s conducting career.
Dr. Dumas was selected to co-direct the North Myrtle Beach Community Band in 2018 and became the ensemble’s Musical Director in 2023. Under his leadership, the ensemble has experienced significant growth in both membership and audience attendance. The North Myrtle Beach Community Band presents four public concerts each year throughout the Myrtle Beach and North Myrtle Beach communities. In spring 2025, the ensemble participated in a unique “home and away” concert exchange with the Asheville Community Band, first hosting the Asheville musicians on the Grand Strand before traveling to Asheville, North Carolina, for a joint performance.
In addition to his work as an educator and conductor, Dr. Dumas remains active as an adjudicator and clinician throughout North and South Carolina. He is passionate about music education and is committed to sharing his knowledge, enthusiasm, and love of music with students, educators, and community musicians. Whether working with young musicians, professional educators, or community ensembles, he believes strongly in the power of music to educate, inspire, connect, and enrich communities.
Away from the podium, Dr. Dumas enjoys golf, saltwater and freshwater fishing, and listening to and performing with jazz combos and big bands. He lives at the beach with his wife, Deanne, and their two children, Evan and Elena.
