Southern Crescent Symphony Orchestra Concert to Include an Original Composition by Clayton State Professor Dr. Jacob Lee

(October 8, 2026) - An original composition by Dr. Jacob Lee, assistant professor of music at Clayton State University, dedicated to Ed Davis, a respected local music educator and conductor, will be featured in an upcoming tribute concert. Lee’s work, Antiphon, will debut in the Southern Crescent Symphony Orchestra's “Remembering,” a concert featuring works written to commemorate people, places, or events, on Thursday, October 15, at 7:30 p.m. at Spivey Hall. Admission is free. 

William Edward "Ed" Davis was co-founder of Tara Winds an adult community band. Mr. Davis co-founded the Tara Winds in 1988 alongside Larry Volman and David Gregory, and his impact on the landscape of music education in Georgia will be felt for generations. Read more about the musical impact and legacy of Ed Davis on the Tara Winds Facebook page tribute to him.

Dr. Lee holds degrees in piano performance (BA) from Southern Utah University, music composition (MM) from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, as well as concurrent degrees in music theory (MA) and music composition (PhD) from the University of Oregon. He has taught as an adjunct music professor at Southern Utah University and currently teaches music theory and piano at Clayton State University in the Department of Film, Communication, and Performing Arts.

According to Dr. Lee, his song “was commissioned by the Southern Crescent Symphony Orchestra to be written in honor of a band director from the area. His name's Ed Davis. When I started composing the piece, I had two angles in mind. I wanted to honor his band legacy, so I made sure my piece featured a lot of the band instruments, like trumpets, French horns, and clarinets. He was also really in love with folk tunes from the British islands. I also tried to incorporate that kind of writing style into the piece. So, I end up with something that sort of sounds like a folk tune, but it's not an actual folk tune.”

In describing his process for writing music, Dr. Lee said, “I usually start composing at the piano, but I end up shifting over to the computer. After I flesh out my main idea, then I'll head over to the computer and finish up from there. So even though I do start at the piano, I'm already thinking about, oh, the clarinet should take this line and maybe the tubas are down here. But I'm not able to really see that as much on the piano as I am when I get on the computer.”

Once the composition was complete, Dr. Lee said, “I write up the sheet music for them, and I hand it off.”  After that, the Southern Crescent Symphony Orchestra invited him to a rehearsal. “I got to hear them run through it this last week and they're sounding great. I'm really excited to hear how it ends up during the October 15th performance.”

Dr. Lee explained how he felt hearing the orchestra's initial run-through of his song. “I think it is what I imagined; it's always a treat to be able to hear actual musicians perform my composition. But they took all of my expectations and surpassed them. It's really just a joy to hear live musicians do your stuff.”

When Dr. Lee was asked when he decided he wanted to be a composer, he said, "So that was a college decision. I made that decision. I was probably about 21. Before that, I thought I was going to go into piano performance. But I remember sitting and listening to some music one day and just being like, no, I need to be writing music like that. It was Leonard Bernstein.” Dr. Lee added, “I remember listening to it, and I was working as a janitor at the time, and I had to stop what I was doing and sit down for a second and just process what I was hearing because it was just, it blew me away, and I was like, I need to do that.”

More details about the Southern Crescent Symphony Orchestra's “Remembering” concert are available online.