John McAllister

John McAllister is a composer, educator, and conductor based in Spartanburg, South Carolina. He received his Bachelor of Music degree in Music Education from Furman University. After graduation, he spent fourteen years teaching all levels of secondary band (5th grade-12th grade) in Spartanburg School District #7. During his tenure, John was named teacher of the year at both McCracken Middle School (in 2015) and Spartanburg High School (in 2020). The ensembles under his direction achieved much success, receiving numerous superior ratings at local and regional festivals.

John’s passion for composing and arranging has merged with his band directing, leading him to create John McAllister Music (www.johnmcallistermusic.com). The website houses his compositions and arrangements, but the most robust section is the “free resources.” Here there are warm-ups, fundamentals, and numerous other resources for music educators. John especially enjoys creating cinematic accompaniments and other engaging play-alongs for young musicians.

A majority of John's compositions and arrangements center around creating exciting and engaging music for young performers. He writes for concert band, orchestra, and chamber ensembles. He has also regularly arranges custom shows for marching band. In addition to writing for performing ensembles, he also writes for the screen. He has scored numerous films, video games, and commercials. Placements have ranged from nationally televised commercials (i.e. on CBS) to popular YouTube Channels (i.e. HISHE). His collaborations with filmmaker Kane Farabaugh have led to multiple Emmy® award winning films.