What is your hometown, what brought
you to the Emerald Coast and how long
have you been here?
I grew up in Fort Walton Beach and lived there
through high school until I left for college. I
found my way back full time in 2005, after
founding Sinfonia Gulf Coast, our region’s only
fully professional symphony orchestra.
What is your profession and what led you
to choose this profession?
I am a musician, specifi cally an orchestra
conductor. The profession chose me. The music
business is one that you just don’t wake up one
day and decide you are going to be a musician.
Many people aren’t aware of the incredible
school music programs that we have here in
Okaloosa and Walton Counties. The band
programs in Okaloosa County, specifi cally, have
a history of excellence in performance that rival
many college programs. The solid foundation
that I received in music during high school paved
the way for me to be accepted in to one of the top
music conservatories in the U.S.A., which then
took me all over the world. I knew early on that
music was my calling. I never looked back.
What do you like best about Destin and
what makes it unique?
There are so many things to love about Destin,
and they are all unique. Aside from the natural
beauty, the sense of community is so strong,
something that I have not witnessed in any of my
travels. The combination of the people and the
place is what makes Destin.
Give us three words that best describe
you.
Funny, Forthright, Frenetic
Favorite things you like about Destin.
The people and the history! What is not to like
about a fi shing village that was partially founded
by a bunch of crazy Greeks? (I had to work that
one in for my mother!)
I AM DESTIN because…
I grew up here, and it will always be a part of me
no matter where life’s journey takes me.
I AM DESTIN
Demetrius
Fuller
photo by Marcia
Wright-Reynolds for ELJ
98 I Am Destin - Demitrius Fuller.indd 1
11/27/18 10:21 AM