Dustin mallory
Dustin Mallory is a music educator living in the Philadelphia suburbs. He previously served on the faculties of Valley City State University, Lincoln University, Rutgers University, and the Wissahickon School District. His areas of specialization include jazz, concert band, percussion, and music theory. Dustin has performed at the Pennsylvania Music Educators Association’s annual conference and lead the VCSU Percussion Ensemble in a performance at the 2023 North Dakota Music Educators Association’s annual conference.
Dustin Mallory is a graduate of Saginaw Valley State University where he earned a Bachelor of Arts in Music Education (PK-12 certification) and was awarded a Master of Arts in Jazz History & Research from Rutgers University.
As a musicologist, Dustin has lectured at conferences in the United States, Canada, and England. He has published articles and presented papers for the Society for American Music, the Music Theory Society of the Mid-Atlantic, the McGill University Music Symposium, the University of Surrey, Columbia University, Florida Southern College, the Percussive Arts Society, the Journal of Jazz Studies, Sound Teaching, All About Jazz, and Cadence: The Independent Journal of Creative Improvised Music.
Mallory studied percussion with the Hohner Institute of Percussion’s Executive Director Dave Valasek and Eubie Blake Award winner Tony Rongo. As a percussionist, Mallory has performed with the Doylestown Symphonic Winds, the Bucks County Symphony Orchestra, the Saginaw Eddy Band, the Saginaw Area Concert Band, the Bay Concert Band, the Resonators Percussion Ensemble, and the SVSU Wind and Percussion Ensembles.
A native of Michigan, Dustin began his guitar studies with his father at age 11 and continued them in Philadelphia with renowned jazz/R&B guitarist Dave Manley. He also received coaching from legendary blues guitarist Larry McCray.
Dustin’s academic studies began when he was awarded the John Philip Sousa Band Award and the Rhea Miller Music Scholarship to attend Saginaw Valley State University. During his time there, Dustin served as Drum Major of the Cardinal Marching Band, Vice-President of The National Association for Music Education’s Saginaw Valley chapter, and a member of the Music Ambassador Program’s outreach to schools.
Dustin proudly endorses Black Swamp Percussion and is a member of their Educator Network. He has memberships in the National Association for Music Education and the Percussive Arts Society.
The mallory project
The Mallory Project (TMP) is a rotating group of working musicians known for their efforts as sidemen in other bands. TMP's mantra is to create genre-diverse social music. Influences include a wide range of artists from The Clash and Phish, to John Coltrane and Marvin Gaye. The music spans many genres, but generally falls into the categories of rock, pop, and jazz. Originally formed in 2010 when Dustin Mallory was creating arrangements for large party bands, TMP evolved into a group designed to capture the flavor of the musicians themselves.
Genrefication, released in the fall of 2016, was formed with a group out of Philly. These musicians are jazz educated with rock and pop sensibilities - giving the album its unique sound. Each track of the album boasts a different genre and is dedicated to a city that impacted TMP: Streetlights to represent the R&B of Philly, Lightened Up/Blank Canvas to symbolize the folk-jam vibes of Saginaw, Echoes to recall Dustin's hometown of Cass City, Corey to stylize the experimental jazz history of Newark, and Rolling Plains to represent the next stop along the way for TMP. The music was written by Dustin and his songwriting partner and brother, Derrick.
Photographer: Jessie Mallory