In 2015, Arthur J. Holton, III, retired as the Director of Bands for San Joaquin Delta College, but he continues to lead the Stockton Concert Band and Lodi Community Band.
Mr. Holton received his B.A. degree from San Jose State University and M.A. in Clarinet Performance from California State University, Chico. Prior to joining the Delta College faculty, Mr. Holton was the Director of Bands at Lincoln High School in Stockton for 21 years, and has 50 years’ experience as a music educator.
Mr. Holton also enjoyed a successful career as a clarinetist with chamber and symphony orchestras and ensembles, as well as wind bands. In addition to serving as Principal Clarinetist with the Stockton Symphony for 18 years, he has served as a guest soloist with that group on several occasions. He has also toured Europe, Australia, and New Zealand, and performed with ensembles comprised of musicians primarily from the Stockton Concert Band and Lodi Community Band. in Hawaii, Scotland, Ireland, and at Carnegie Hall in 2007, 2010, and 2024, and at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. in 2013.
As a conductor, Mr. Holton has helmed musical ensembles ranging from concert, jazz and brass bands to choral ensembles with which he has toured Europe, Australia, and New Zealand seven times. The high school concert, jazz and marching bands he directed amassed over 1,000 awards, including more than 40 Command Performance ratings in concert and jazz festivals. The Lincoln High School Band performed under his direction in the Pasadena Tournament of Roses Parade on three occasions.
He received the John Philip Sousa Foundation Legion of Honor Award at the Midwestern Band Clinic in Chicago.
Mr. Holton’s wife, Kathy, also a retired music educator, plays clarinet in the band, as well as in the Lodi Community Band.