Josh Cvijanovic is the Associate Director of Bands and Director of Orchestra at Leesville Road High School in Raleigh. In this capacity he helps to oversee all aspects of the Instrumental Music programs, serving as a conductor of the Intermediate Band, Concert Band, Symphonic Band, Jazz Band, and Orchestra. Mr. Cvijanovic comes to LRHS from Cedar Ridge HS in Hillsborough, where he led the band program from 2014-2022. Prior to that, he taught at Eastern Randolph HS for five years. Students in his programs participated in collegiate, District, and State level honor bands; including performances with the All-American Marching Band, the NAfME National Jazz Ensemble, and the Grammy Jazz Band.
The bands of Leesville Road have performed nationwide including San Francisco, New York, Chicago, Atlanta, and Orlando along with invitations for the band to perform with area college wind ensembles and professional groups. The concert ensembles receive consistent Excellent and Superior ratings at Music Performance Adjudication annually.
Mr. Cvijanovic is active with the NC Bandmasters Association and NC Music Educators Association, serving as the Chair of the Jazz Education Section, the CDBA Central Region MPA Site Host, CDBA High School All-District Clinic Chair, and Central Region Jazz Treasurer. Josh is in demand as an adjudicator and clinician across the state for concert, jazz, and marching events. He has worked as a rehearsal assistant and conductor with the UNCG Summer Music Camp for eleven years, served as an Educational Consultant for Carolina Gold Drum and Bugle Corps, and in 2017 was a conductor with the “Carolina Ambassador’s Honor Band,” touring and performing in the U.K., France, Switzerland, Austria, Germany, and Italy. Since 2019, he has served as the Percussion Section Coach for the North Carolina Youth Wind Ensemble.
Mr. Cvijanovic graduated Summa Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Music in Music Education (2007) and a Master of Music in Percussion Performance (2009) from the University of North Carolina Greensboro. He is a member of the American School Band Directors Association (Class of 2022), Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia, Pi Kappa Lambda Honors Society in Music, NAfME, the North Carolina Bandmasters Association, and the Vic Firth Education Team. In 2015,
Cvijanovic was awarded the “Ed Rooker Encore Award” by the NC Chapter of the American School Band Directors Association; which is given to honor the achievements and service of new band directors and to promote the ASBDA mission of fostering rising talent in the music education profession. Josh has twice been recognized by the Central District Bandmasters Association: in 2020 he was elected the “Band Director of the Year,” and in 2022 he was elected
the recipient of the prestigious Award of Excellence.
Josh and his wife Amanda, an EC Teacher and Department Chair at Eastlawn Elementary School, live in Burlington with their sons Henry and Benjamin.