David C. Allison earned a Master's Degree in Trumpet Performance from the University of South Carolina after undergraduate studies at Ithaca College and the Eastman School of Music. He has taught in public schools, privately, and at the college levels. He retired in June 2021 after his 17th year as the Director of Bands at Spring Valley High School, and 28 years teaching in Richland 2. 

Mr. Allison was named Teacher of the Year in 1998-1999 at Summit Parkway, and at Spring Valley in 2016-2017. He was named in School Band & Orchestra magazine’s Fifty Teachers Who Make a Difference in 2001, and was awarded the Citation of Excellence by the National Bandmasters Association in 2001, 2002, 2007, 2011 and 2014. He has conducted at numerous region, all-state band and orchestra clinics, and has authored articles on trumpet pedagogy for publications including the South Carolina Bandmaster and Phi Beta Mu. Mr. Allison was awarded the Outstanding Bandmaster Award and inducted into the Hall of Fame from Theta Chapter of Phi Beta Mu, International Bandmasters Fraternity. 

As a trumpet player, Mr. Allison continues to perform in both the classical and commercial fields. He has performed with orchestras in New York, Kansas, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and Georgia. He is a founding member of the Palmetto Brass, performs in the Dick Goodwin Big Band, the Palmetto Concert Band, and the SC Brass Band. Mr. Allison is Principal Trumpet Emeritus of the South Carolina Philharmonic after performing for 25 years as the Principal Trumpet. He has also appeared as guest soloist with the Savannah Symphony, the South Carolina Philharmonic, the University of SC Symphony, and the S.C. Chamber Orchestra. Mr. Allison has performed on several performance tours with many artists including Chuck Mangione, Glen Miller, Doc Severinsen, Aretha Franklin, The Temptations, Natalie Cole, The Four Tops, Ray Charles, Olivia Newton John, and Dizzy Gillespie, to name a few.