Jeff Au is leading more than bands at Duke. He sees the marching and pep bands, which he directs, as a musical community that brings a sense of belonging to a diverse group of students who are focused on fun and musical excellence. His journey to Duke began in rural Lancaster, Ohio, amid rolling hills and farms. His mother and brother played the trumpet, and it became the instrument he just had to learn to play, too. Au, 58, studied at Ohio University, where he earned a degree in music theory and composition. He later graduated from Notre Dame with a master’s degree in trumpet performance. He went on to become a collegiate band director, first at Elizabeth City State University in North Carolina and then at Towson University near Baltimore. But his best job came when he landed in Durham and Blue Devil country, where he has crafted energetic halftime field shows and pumped up basketball fans at Cameron – even playing in the courtside pep band himself – for 21 years. A gentle and modest spirit, Au loves his students, enjoys working on his fixer-upper house – his first home ever – and serving as devoted dog dad to Manny, a 6-year-old Jack Russell-Dachshund mix whose companionship is yet another kind of music to Au’s big heart.
What is your most marked characteristic? Resourcefulness. I can do a whole lot usually with very little, which is helpful in both my job and my life in general. I am pretty good at improvising solutions.
If you could be something other than a collegiate director of athletic bands what would it be? I think an architect. I’m very mechanically minded and it also gives a lot of opportunity for creativity. I like building things and fixing things with my hands.
What is your idea of perfect happiness? Just being in nature with Manny. Where it’s secluded and I can let him run around just being a dog and just being happy.
What do you consider your greatest achievement? What we’ve done with the band since I’ve been here. We’ve improved quality a lot, and we have a really special culture – very inclusive and supportive.
When and where were you the happiest? As an adult, I was the happiest after I graduated at Ohio University as an undergrad. I paused for two years and had a 9-to-5 job at Compuserve. I worked Monday to Friday and had free weekends. That was easy and not a lot of worries. But I’m very fulfilled by this job now. I wouldn’t trade it. Also, just out walking my dog. It’s a good way to be present, seeing him enjoy himself.
What is your favorite journey? My favorite physical journey is driving back home to Ohio, driving through West Virginia. It’s beautiful country.
What is your greatest extravagance? This house I bought in 2022 and renovating it. This was a big step for me. I’ve always wanted to build my own house, but this is good enough and really rewarding.
What is the trait you like most about yourself? I tend to treat everyone I meet with the same degree of respect.
What is the trait you like most in others? Compassion.
What do you most value in your friends? Openness. Supportiveness.
Who is your favorite hero of fiction and why? My favorite movie in the world is “Babe.” Babe (a pig) is just a pure-hearted being that doesn’t judge others and doesn’t have an unkind bone in his body. The movie opens with the saying, “This is a tale about an unprejudiced heart, and how it changed our valley forever.” If I could be like him in human form, that would be great.
Who is your favorite hero of sports? Muhammad Ali is a great hero because he was willing to stand up for what he believed despite the negative impact it would have on his career and his reputation. To be that strong – I have to admire that.
Which words or phrases do you most overuse? Some of my students noticed that I often say “I believe this.”
What makes you laugh the most? My partner and I, we sometimes do improv. And one of us will say something as an intro and we’ll riff on this for 15 or 20 minutes. It’s always hilarious to me. She’s very funny as well.
If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be? I would love if I could never, in any sense, get angry. I would love to not drive up my stress level over things that I can’t address at the time.
What is your motto? Not to harm anyone and not judge anyone. The second one is hard in this world.
What is the possession that you most treasure and why? My two B-flat trumpets. One of them is one-of-a-kind, irreplaceable and an amazing horn that I use when I play with the pep band. The other is my large bore New York Bach Stradivarius (not the same as a violin). It was made in the New York factory in the ’50s.
What is your favorite music (for relaxing, driving, working out)? Relaxing: Chopin piano music. Driving: semi-progressive ’80s music – Talking Heads, Joe Jackson, Elvis Costello. Working out: late ’60s rock through current pop.
What is your favorite go-to snack (and when do you attack it)? Flipz chocolate-covered pretzels. I eat them about once a year. I know if I buy a bag, it’s all going to be consumed in five minutes.
What is your favorite spot on the Duke campus? I really like running or walking on Campus Drive between east and west campus, and I like to veer off the path and into the woods a little – especially when Manny is with me.
What is the best advice you ever received about life – and who gave it? I read a lot of Buddhist teachings. One of them is that a path to enlightenment is perfect compassion toward everything and everyone. That’s not easy, of course. But I think that’s a good way to try to live a peaceful life.
What is one thing you’d like to tell the Duke alums about your role at Duke and how you do your job? There are two things – student experience and performance. I really try to have an organization that welcomes everyone, where everyone feels safe, where we have strong diversity and give students a good experience of working toward a common goal. The other part is working together for excellence. We have a really great group here, and I’m proud of what we have achieved.