Ernest (Sonny) Cadden, Jr. was born in Amory,
Mississippi, in 1934,
and began his career with bands in 1946 when, as a sixth
grader, he attended his first State Band Festival. He spent
seven years as a
student in the Amory band and returned to his Alma Mater in
1970 to serve and additional seven years as band director.
Cadden received the Bachelor of the Arts in Music
(1956) and the Master of Education (1964) from the
University of Mississippi, where he was solo clarinetist for
three years.
Cadden’s first teaching position, in 1956,
was as Band and Choral Director at Leland High School, a
position he held until 1970. During the fourteen years in
Leland, his bands were consistently rated “superior” in
competition and were recognized in The School Musician
by both Phi Beta Mu and ASBDA as “Band of the Month”. It
was presented in First Chair of American three times. Cadden
was presented the “Order of the Silver Horn” by First Chair
of America in 1967. in 1969, Cadden was selected by The
School Musician as “one of the top ten band directors in
the United States and Canada.” While teaching in Leland,
Cadden married the former Margaret Smith of Forest. They
have three children: Lee, Carl, and Dollie. In 1970, Cadden
returned to Amory, where he served as Band Director of the
next seven years, during which time the Amory High School
Band won many honors. At the 1973 Tri-State Band Festival in
Enid, Oklahoma, the band was selected “The Most Outstanding
in Class”, in Concert,
Marching, and Parade, and in Concert and Parade in
1977.
Cadden has served as President of the MMEA,
Band Division in 1968 and 1973, and Treasurer of the MMEA,
in 1971 and 1972. He is also Past President of Phi Mu, Delta
Chapter and was State ASBDA Chairman four years. Other
honors include Past President of Band Director’s
Associations in Districts I and III, Past President District
III Choral Director’s Association. He has been honored with
lifetime membership in the MMEA Band Division, forerunner of
the Mississippi Bandmaster Association.
In 1989, he was named McNairy County (TN)
“Citizen of the Year” and Is Past President of the Selmer,
Tennessee Rotary Club.
Cadden was conductor of the Greenville
Symphony Orchestra from 1966 until 1969 and was Concert
Director of the Mississippi Lions’ All-State Band in 1962,
1966, 1969, and 1974.
In 1976, Cadden received the coveted “Mac”
award, named in Memory of A. H. McAllister, eminent American
bandmaster and outstanding leader in the field of music
education in American.
