Dr. Jacob M. Dakon is Director of Orchestras at Hillgrove High School in Cobb County, Georgia. Prior to his appointment, Dr. Dakon served as Associate Professor of Music Education at the University of Kansas for 13 years. During his tenure as a Jayhawk, he taught coursework in string pedagogy, conducting, music administration, human development, and qualitative methodologies. He has also held positions as a string orchestra director in South Carolina public schools, an adjunct faculty member at Appalachian State University, and a Suzuki violin instructor with the James C. Harper Community Music School in Lenoir, North Carolina.  

A dedicated pedagogue, musician, and scholar, Dr. Dakon has given around 75 research and clinical presentations at music conferences around the global, including the American String Teachers Association, National Association for Music Education, and International Society for Music Education. Dr. Dakon has also provided professional development to school districts and music programs in countries such as South Africa, Costa Rica, and Belgium. In 2024, Dr. Dakon returned to Bloemfontein, South Africa, to collaborate with string teachers in the Mangaung String Programme. Notable conducting engagements include the 2017 Georgia Music Educators Association District 12 Middle School Honors Orchestra, adjudicating the 2019 American String Teachers Association National Orchestra Festival in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and conducting the 2020 Oregon All-State Middle School Orchestra. Additionally, Dr. Dakon has been invited to guest conduct multiple student performances in Kansas, Missouri, and Ohio.

Dr. Dakon's scholarly research interests include Bornoff string pedagogy, community music, and the history of string education. His scholarly articles on these and other topics have been published in leading peer-reviewed music education journals, such as the Journal of Research in Music Education, British Journal of Music Education, Journal of Historical Research in Music Education, String Research Journal, Bulletin of the Council for Research in Music Education, and the American String Teacher. He is also an active member of the music education community, serving on the American String Teacher Association Research Committee and as President of the Kansas American String Teachers Association.

Dr. Dakon holds a B.M. in Music Education from the University of South Carolina, an M.M. in Violin Performance from Appalachian State University, and a Ph.D. in Music Education from The Ohio State University. Dr. Dakon has also received specialized training in the pedagogical approaches of George Bornoff, Paul Rolland, and Shin’ichi Suzuki. 

Dr. David Doke began his music teaching career in 1994 as the first director of the North Cobb High School Orchestra. In 2006, he was invited to open Hillgrove High School and served as Director of Orchestras and Advanced Placement Music Theory teacher until his retirement in 2024. 

Under Dr. Doke's leadership, Hillgrove High School's orchestral ensembles performed at prestigious venues such as the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, DC (2012), Orchestra Hall in Chicago (2013), and Carnegie Hall (2011, 2014, 2017 and 2022). Dr. Doke also conducted performances at the Georgia Music Educators State Conference with the North Cobb Symphony (2001), and the Hillgrove Symphony (2010 & 2015). International performances include a two-week concert tour of Beijing, Shanghai and Hangzhou, China (2016), performances at the 75th Anniversary of the D-Day Landings in Normandy and Paris, France (2019), and a concert tour of Iceland (2024).

In 2003, Dr. Doke received the Atlanta Journal-Constitution Honor Teacher Award and was named STAR Teacher at Hillgrove High School in 2012 and 2024.