John Boyd earned his Bachelor of Music Education degree from Jacksonville State University in Alabama in 1997. He was hired as the Director of Bands at Henry E. Lackey High School in Indian Head, MD from 1997 – 2001 and has been the Director of Bands at Princess Anne since July of 2001. Princess Anne High School is home to PA Bands and is a 25-time Virginia Honor Band with 17 of those years coming under the direction of Mr. Boyd. Known throughout the region for its famed marching band, the Fabulous Marching Cavaliers, under Mr. Boyd’s leadership Princess Anne has also engaged its audiences with its Wind Ensemble, Symphonic Band, Speed of Sound Big Band, student-run Jazz Combo, various small ensembles, and Percussion Ensemble. He founded the Big Spring Jam — an annual concert series for area percussion ensembles and jazz ensembles — as well as the Dominion Storm Indoor Drum-line, and is a charter organizer and provided the conceptual vision of the Virginia Marching Band Cooperative.
Mr. Boyd’s ensembles consistently earn Superior Ratings on the most challenging literature graded by the state of Virginia for the PA Wind Ensemble and on the entry level “Advanced” literature for the PA Symphonic Band. Additionally, The Speed of Sound Big Band and Fabulous Marching Cavaliers are also consistently rated as Superior ensembles.
In 2011 Mr. Boyd was recognized by United States Senator Mark Warner as well as WTKR News Channel 3 for creating and organizing a Virginia Beach City High School Bands benefit concert that raised over $5,000 for Peace Winds Japan to be used for the families and victims of the Japanese tsunami off of the coast of Honshu.
In 2019 Mr. Boyd was asked by Virginia Beach City leadership to help organize and have his band perform at the “VB Remembers” Memorial Event for the victims of the Virginia Beach City Government Building 2 Mass Shooting. There has never been a greater honor for this band program or its conductor.
In 2023 the Fabulous Marching Cavaliers were given the opportunity by Pharrell Williams to record music for his hit song “Piece by Piece”. In 2024 the band was invited by Pharrell Williams, Focus Features, and NBC to perform on “The TODAY Show” in New York City’s Rockefeller Center as well as perform at the Red Carpet Premier for his “Piece by Piece” LEGO movie at the Lincoln Center. This was the experience of a lifetime for all involved from Princess Anne High School!
Mr. Boyd — a two-time Princess Anne High School “Distinguished Educator” (2019 and 2025) — is in demand as an adjudicator for marching and concert bands, a clinician for marching and concert bands, and as a guest conductor for honor bands in Virginia and Maryland. Additionally, he has presented several professional development sessions on band topics in music conferences in multiple states. He is married to Mrs. Kelly Boyd, a PAHS 12th grade IB English and 11th and 12th grade IB Theories of Knowledge teacher and 2025 Princess Anne High School Teacher of the Year, and they have been blessed in life with their children Gabriel and Elliot.