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Wednesday, Sep. 23, 2009

Peach band program in rebuilding process

Editor’s Note: This is the last story in a series about area high school bands.

Like its school’s namesake, the sounds coming from the Peach County High School Band are really sweet.

It is also a program that is growing by the bushel.

Darren Johnson is in his third year as band director at the school.

He previously was in Dougherty County.

Johnson describes the Peach program as being in the process of rebuilding, starting with the basics.

“We first went to year-round band. When we got here, the band was only during football season,” he said. “My main concern was (students’) individual skills, which you develop by being in band week after week, not just football season. So now it is a year-round program.”

Johnson said having band year-round is the only way to increase the students’ skill level, which in turn brings continuity to the program.

Johnson also added a symphonic band at Peach County and put students in classes where they play according to their ability level and then move through in a sequence as that ability matures.

He also turned his attention to the middle school program.

“High school band growth comes from the foundation (students) receive in middle school. That is sometimes overlooked,” he said.

“We wanted to really push band in middle school, knowing that our growth would come from there eventually.”

Already the hard work has paid off for Peach County, which earned a superior rating in 2007 and recently learned the band was selected as a state-level winner in the National Wind Band Honors competition.

“Awards just legitimize what (the students) are doing and keep them on the right track,” Johnson said. “We want our kids to have the ability to perform anywhere, on the state and national level. To want their music to take them places.”

Those places include many major colleges with scholarships. Johnson has students scattered from Georgia Southern University to Tennessee State University.

But awards and scholarships for his students aren’t the reason Johnson puts so much time into the program at Peach County.

“There is just tons of research out there that relates music to academic success. They go hand in hand. In a lot of cultures music is considered not extracurricular but a requirement,” he said.

Along with the academic success music brings, it opens a whole other world for students, especially ones from rural Peach County, Johnson said.

“Band pays off in other ways,” he said. “We get them out of their little world, exposing them to things they have never seen. It changes their perception of life, meeting others, sharing ideas.”

One Peach County student represented the school on an European tour this summer. Aaron Featherstone was selected as part of the 2009 state honor band.

“It was a mind-blowing experience for him,” Johnson said. “A kid from little, ol’ Peach County seeing the world.”

Glynnesha Turner, a senior, is the drum major at the school. Turner runs the marching band rehearsal and conducts students on the field, teaching routines and technique as well.

With Peach County going to a four-day school week this year, the school schedule has posed an additional challenge for Johnson.

“We have had a lot of changes that affect what we are doing, but we still have to produce,” he said. “That is my challenge — to continue the tradition of a first-class band for Peach County High School.”

Contact Alline Kent at allinekent@cox.net or at 396-2467.