BYMA ’26 Staff Members- Bell

Each Musicians Abroad tour is guided by an outstanding team of educators who bring leadership, experience and enthusiasm to every step of the journey. These dedicated professionals support students through rehearsals, performances and travel abroad, ensuring each participant has a meaningful and unforgettable experience.

Sheily D. Bell

Sheily D. Bell holds multiple degrees in music education from Louisiana State University. She has been a music educator for 53 years and is currently Director of Bands at Dutchtown HS (LA) which she opened in 2002. Sheily was also the director of the award winning East Ascension and St. Amant High Schools (LA). She was named Louisiana’s Band Master’s, Bandmaster of the Year in 1994, Phi Beta Mu Bandmaster of the year in 1993, 2023, and 2025 as well as Outstanding Band Director of the Year by the South Central Music Conference. Sheily Bell’s bands have received accolades at both the district, state and national levels in marching, concert and sight-reading adjudication. In addition, her bands have earned top honors at music festivals in Florida, Texas, Tennessee, New York City, Pennsylvania and Illinois. In 2023 her band was the only school from Louisiana chosen to perform at the Music for All National Festival in Indianapolis, Indiana. Her high school bands also perform at numerous community and civic events in the Baton Rouge metropolitan area. This past fall her Marching band was awarded Grand Champion of Louisiana State Marching Showcase.

Sheily is a member of National Association for Music Education, Louisiana Music Educator Association, National Band Masters Association, District IV Honor Band Association Secretary, Phi Beta Mu, Association of Concert Bands, Louisiana Association of Educators and Louisiana Music Adjudicators Association. Sheily is also a member and Louisiana’s chairperson of American School Band Director Association.

Sheily has been a teacher-mentor to numerous music educators and has helped guide their careers. Sheily has been a music instructor at River Parish Community College and is also the director of the Baton Rouge Community Band, an adult concert band consisting of amateur and professional musicians from the Baton Rouge area. Under Sheily’s leadership the Baton Rouge Community Band performs at numerous concerts and civic events. Additionally, the Baton Rouge Concert Band has performed seven times at the Association of Concert Band’s national convention, in Lafayette; Louisiana; Pensacola; Florida; Houston, Texas; and Fort Smith, Arkansas in the Spring of 2025. In 2005, Sheily was inducted as a laureate in the prestigious John Philip Sousa Foundation. This award is given to ten high school band directors a year. Sheily was also awarded the Herbert L. and Jean Schultz Mentor Ideal, a nationally recognized award given to teachers of teachers by The Association of Concert Bands.

Sheily was married to the late Pat Bell Sr. for 47 years. She is the mother of two grown sons, and grandmother to five grandchildren, the eldest of which was a proud member of Sheily’s Dutchtown High School Band and the Louisiana State University Tiger Marching Band.