Dr. Tony McCutchen is retiring from his position of Department Head and Distinguished Professor in the David L. Walter Department of Music at JSU. After graduating from high school in Montgomery, AL, McCutchen earned his B.S. in Music Education at Auburn University, M.M. in Performance at East Carolina University, and D.M.A. in Performance at the University of North Texas.

The reputation of the Music Department and its program and an opening in Percussion are what initially brought McCutchen to JSU. He states that the most notable changes to occur during his eleven years here have been the creation of the Recreation Center and the developments in the new Mason Hall. With an expertise in Percussion, Steel Drums, and Jazz, McCutchen finds that his favorite courses to teach are Applied Percussion and Steel Band. He says that he will miss the faculty and the students the most once he retires.

McCutchen has plans to perform and arrange more music in his retirement, as well as cycle more on the trails in the area, such as Ladiga and Coldwater Mountain. As of now, McCutchen continues to write, arrange, and perform music in various settings.

If McCutchen had to give advice to students, he would say, “Learn to treat your new college experience as a professional career as you learn how to think and function as a successful, professional member of society. Learn to make good decisions every day and every hour.”

His advice to faculty new to JSU is to “Embrace and enjoy all that JSU and the surrounding area has to offer. Remember that it is all about the students, not us.”

We are fortunate that McCutchen will return in the Fall as a teaching retiree to continue to provide students with the opportunity to perform with the JSU Steel Band. We wish him well in his “retirement.”