On the morning of Wednesday, April 1, Joseph Hawkins Conyers, Country Day class of 1999, was awarded the Distinguished Alumnus Award, becoming the fifteenth individual to receive the honor. Mr. Conyers was recognized at a campus ceremony with over 400 attendees that included family, friends, fellow alumni, students and faculty. 

The award was created by the Country Day Alumni Board in 1998 to honor an alumnus or alumna who has demonstrated the highest standards of achievement, leadership, and service and who represents the enduring principals of The Savannah Country Day School. 

Mr. Conyers is currently assistant principal bassist in the highly esteemed Philadelphia Orchestra, having joined after residencies with the Atlanta Symphony, the Grand Rapids Symphony, and the Santa Fe Opera Orchestra.  As an orchestral musician, Mr. Conyers has performed throughout the United States and Europe and in a number of prestigious venues, including Carnegie Hall, Kennedy Center, Lincoln Center and the Musikverein in Vienna, Austria. 

In addition to his contributions and accomplishments within the orchestral music community, Joseph is the co-founder of Project 440, an organization designed to encourage, educate and empower communities through the unifying power of music. Mr. Conyers serves on the board of directors of the American String Teachers Association as artist representative, the Board of Overseers for the Curtis Institute of Music, and the National Advisory Board for the Atlanta Music Project. He has served as adjunct faculty at Clark Atlanta University, as well an adjunct professor of bass at Calvin College. In addition, he was recently added to the teaching faculty at Temple University in Philadelphia. Mr. Conyers was named on of “30 Leaders 30 and Under” by Ebony magazine in 2007.