When the Marching Jayhawks take to the football field this fall, there will be a new leader of the band – a Texan.

David W. Clemmer has been named director of athletic bands and assistant band director, Kansas University announced today.

“He is an outstanding musician, an excellent teacher and an exceptional leader,” Larry Mallett, chair of KU’s Department of Music and Dance, said.

Clemmer will join KU in August, succeeding James Hudson.

Clemmer has been associate director of bands, director of athletic bands and an assistant professor of music at Sam Houston State University in Huntsville, Texas.

He is also acting assistant director of summer music camps and the Sam Houston State Marching Contest.

Before joining Sam Houston State, Clemmer taught at the University of Texas-Arlington, the University of Oklahoma and several Texas high schools and middle schools. He received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Texas-Arlington and his master’s degree in instrumental conducting from Oklahoma.

Clemmer, has performed professionally with the Dallas Opera, the East Texas Symphony Orchestra, the Legend Brass Quintet and the Texas Wind Symphony. He is a member of the College Band Directors National Assn., the Texas Bandmasters Assn. and the Texas Music Educators Assn.

He produced an instructional DVD, “The Cavaliers Brass: From the Concert Hall to the Football Field.”