Walter L. Hickman, Assistant Conductor, Atlanta Concert Band, and leader of the Big Peach Swing Band, earned the Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Tennessee and a Master of Music from Georgia State University. He moved to the Atlanta area in 1986 to accept the award of Graduate Assistant at Georgia State University. He served on the music staff at Rehoboth Baptist Church in Tucker, Georgia from 1988-2001 and currently is the staff trombonist at Dunwoody Baptist Church, Dunwoody, Georgia. He began studio teaching in 1990, and has performed often since age 16. He has enjoyed a variety of engagements, including hundreds of community, recording and traveling events, performing for such artists as The Temptations, The Four tops, the Impressions, The Supremes, Barry Manilow, Aretha Franklin, Johnny Mathis, Bernadette Peters, Marvin Hamlisch, Frank Sinatra Jr., Dionne Warwick, Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys, the Moody Blues, and others. He currently serves as the Associate Director of Bands at Peachtree Charter Middle School in the DeKalb County School System. Mr. Hickman joined the Atlanta Concert Band in 2002 as principal trombone and became Assistant Conductor in 2004.