Corey Spurlin
Corey Spurlin is an American conductor and music educator who has directed the Auburn University Marching Band since 2007. He was briefly a finalist for the Ohio State marching band post in 2015.
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Corey Spurlin is an American conductor and music educator. He is Marching Band Director, Associate Director of Bands and Professor of Music at Auburn University in Alabama.[1][2][3]
Education and early career
Spurlin earned his bachelor's and master's degrees in music education at the University of Alabama and a Doctor of Musical Arts in wind conducting at Louisiana State University, where he studied with Frank B. Wickes.[1][3] Before graduate school he was director of bands at Tuscaloosa County High School in Northport and Tuscaloosa Middle School. At Alabama he was a graduate teaching assistant and, in 2002–03, acting assistant director of the marching band and conductor of the Alabama Symphonic Band. He also conducted the Alabama men's basketball band for six years. At LSU he was a graduate assistant with the Tiger Marching Band and graduate associate conductor of the university's wind ensembles.[1]
Auburn University
Spurlin became director of the Auburn University Marching Band in 2007, when Rick Good was promoted to director of bands.[2] Under his direction the band grew to 380 members, the largest in its history. It has played at Southeastern Conference championship games, two BCS National Championship Games, the Sugar, Outback, Chick-fil-A and Birmingham bowls, and the St. Patrick's Day Parade in Dublin, Ireland.[1] On January 7, 2024, the band won the inaugural Metallica Marching Band Competition in both the Collegiate Division 1 and Fan Favorite categories.[2][3] According to Electronic Arts, the band also won the 2025 edition of the For Whom the Band Tolls! competition, which EA Sports runs with Metallica, and recorded a new version of the "Campus Clash Theme" for the video game College Football 26; the EA article does not name Spurlin.[4]
He also conducts Auburn's Concert Band, is associate conductor of the Auburn Symphonic Winds, and teaches conducting and wind-band literature.[1][3] With the Symphonic Winds he has conducted on the ensemble's tours of China and Italy.[1] In June 2024 he directed the D-Day 80th Anniversary Collegiate Mass Band, which performed at the 80th-anniversary commemorations in France.[3] In August 2021 Auburn Athletics' Talking Tigers podcast featured him as the band prepared to return to the field after the 2020 season, when COVID-19 rules had kept it off the field.[5]
2015 Ohio State search
In spring 2015 Spurlin was a finalist to become director of the Ohio State University Marching Band. Ohio State's student newspaper, The Lantern, reported on April 2, 2015 that he was the first of two finalists to visit campus. According to an email to band members, the visit included conducting the spring athletic band's rehearsal, followed by a question-and-answer session with its members, and he was also scheduled to meet members of the 2014 marching band.[6] On April 21, 2015, The Lantern reported that Spurlin was no longer a candidate. The search committee chair had told band students by email that both finalists who had visited campus had withdrawn.[7] He remained at Auburn.[1] Posts about the search appeared at the time in the r/auburn and r/CFB communities on Reddit.[8][9]
Professional work
According to Auburn's College of Liberal Arts, he has been Southern Division Chair of the National Band Association for eight years. It says he is a member of Phi Beta Mu and has served for six years on the athletic band committee of the College Band Directors National Association.[3] He has written for six volumes of Teaching Music Through Performance in Band and contributed to Gary Smith's marching band textbook The System. He also served for 13 years as head drill design clinician at the Smith Walbridge Camps at Eastern Illinois University.[3]
Recordings
Discogs credits him on the band's recordings from 2008–2009 through 2017–2018.[10] He is credited as director on the 2008–2009 album,[11] and the 2018 CD credits him as marching band director and as writer of the liner notes.[12] Apple Music lists the band's 2011–2012 album under "Auburn University Marching Band & Dr. Corey Spurlin".[13]
See also
- Notable Spurlins · People strong
An index of notable people surnamed Spurlin, with related Spurling-surname figures listed separately as variants. - Spurlins in music · Culture strong
A roundup of musicians and music credits under the Spurlin name, from 1950s rockabilly and small-label country 45s to a 1980s soul single, jazz sidemen, a Christian metal guitarist, Bill Clinton's high-school band director, a university marching band director, a record-company sales representative and present-day streaming artists. - Spurlin artists on streaming platforms · Culture weak
Recording artists named Spurlin on Spotify, Apple Music and other streaming services, from 1950s rockabilly reissues and a 1980s soul single to today's independent releases. - Ed Spurlin · People strong
Ed Spurlin is a former Auburn University football player from Opp, Alabama. He was listed as a quarterback in 1984, when he played in 12 games, and as a linebacker in 1985. - Spurlin on Reddit and online forums · Culture weak
Where the Spurlin name comes up in online discussion: Reddit threads about Spurlin athletes, a band director and a dog breeder, long-running genealogy message boards, and a few other platforms that were checked. - Spurlins in sports · Culture strong
An overview of people surnamed Spurlin in sports: college and minor league baseball, college football, wrestling, softball and basketball coaching, with links to each article and a note of the professional leagues and databases searched.
References
- ↑ ↑ ↑ ↑ ↑ ↑ ↑ Corey Spurlin — Auburn University Bands — faculty biography Official
- ↑ ↑ ↑ Auburn University Marching Band — Wikipedia — hired as marching band director in 2007 on the promotion of Rick Good; 2024 Metallica competition Reference
- ↑ ↑ ↑ ↑ ↑ ↑ ↑ Corey Spurlin — College of Liberal Arts at Auburn University — faculty directory profile and biography Official
- ↑ The Sounds Behind EA SPORTS Madden NFL & College Football — Electronic Arts — Names the Auburn University Marching Band as winners of the 2025 competition; does not name Spurlin Official
- ↑ Talking Tigers - Dr. Corey Spurlin — Auburn Tigers — August 30, 2021 Official
- ↑ Potential new band director visits campus — The Lantern — Logan Hickman, April 2, 2015 News
- ↑ 2nd finalist for marching band director drops out — The Lantern — Logan Hickman, April 21, 2015 News
- ↑ Band Members- need your input! — r/auburn, Reddit — posted April 1, 2015; read via Internet Archive snapshot of 2023-06-03 (https://web.archive.org/web/20230603035323/https://www.reddit.com/r/auburn/comments/312aps/band_members_need_your_input/) Social
- ↑ Ohio State offers Auburn band director Corey Spurlin same position at OSU, Spurlin shoots them down — r/CFB, Reddit — submitted April 20, 2015; read via Internet Archive snapshot of 2023-06-05 (https://web.archive.org/web/20230605015054/https://old.reddit.com/r/CFB/comments/33af63/ohio_state_offers_auburn_band_director_corey/) Social
- ↑ Corey Spurlin — Discogs — credits on Auburn University Marching Band albums, 2008–2009 to 2017–2018 Reference
- ↑ The Auburn University Marching Band – 2008-2009 (Tresona Multimedia, 2009) — Discogs — Corey Spurlin, Directed By Reference
- ↑ Auburn University Marching Band – 2017-2018 — Discogs — Corey Spurlin credited for liner notes and as music director (marching band director) Reference
- ↑ Auburn University Marching Band, 2011-2012 — Apple Music — 2012, 19 songs Commercial
Last reviewed 2026-09-24.