The title Band Director may evoke many names. Perhaps John Phillip Sousa or Prof. Harold Hill come to mind.  Maybe you’re a band director’s wife and other names come to mind.  But that’s another blog for another day.  But maybe you remember, with fond memories, the work, the camaraderie, the spirit that is band and the person that made it all come to life for you personally.  For me, that was J. Larry Moore.

Before we get to Larry, let’s talk about band, and in particular, marching band.  While Mr. Moore had an excellent concert band (at least I like to think so), it was marching band where much of his innovative efforts stuck out.  It was marching band that for me, and I believe for most band members, where that feeling of camaraderie was developed. There’s something about working outside in a wide variety of elements, none of which were ever bad enough to cancel a rehearsal, traveling together, eating together, socializing together that created much more than a band, it created a family.  And Larry was the father of that family.

You see, it was about much more than the music.  Don’t get me wrong, the music was important – REALLY important.  But just as important was teaching accountability, commitment, personal responsibility, work ethic and great attitude.  Like any great father, Larry let us know when we did well and also let us know, in no uncertain terms, when we screwed up.  And while in the moment it may have been embarrassing, it was a lesson for a lifetime.

When others in my profession, those wonderful colleagues I work with in my day job and in my work with the National Association for Music Education, share some not so complimentary remarks about the “good old boys club” and how band directors tend to band together away from other music educators (pun intended), I get it.  I really do. It’s difficult to get those in band education to collaborate with other areas of music education which upsets me a bit and yet I understand why it happens.  Others, even in music education, are just not a part of the family.

My son joined the army after 9/11 and not long after, he was sent to Afghanistan.  When he came home, he had changed and he had joined another family – his army family.  No matter where he goes, because he knows these men and women have experienced the same things he did, he is able to get into conversations, give a hug, a handshake or a pat on the back because these people, this FAMILY, understands.  And while the experiences a band family has are not as traumatic, it is because of intense, emotional, shared experiences, we too can meet someone else from anywhere in the country who participated in this art form and we immediately understand each other.

A little over a week ago, a group of us, former students, colleagues, friends and family, gathered together to honor our “father” for the work he did, not only to make music with us, but for his work to make us better people.  I spoke to several friends who shared that they helped put this concert together, complete with a piece commissioned just for him just because it was Larry and we owe him so much.  While he didn’t stay in the profession long after I graduated, his legacy lives on through his next chapter where he is a successful fundraiser for – you guessed it – bands.  He still continues to preach working together, loyalty, and hard work, even though in today’s world it may not be considered very PC.

I’ve been fortunate in my lifetime to participate in this art form, working with not only my band director, but my husband, who is also a band director and many great friends and colleagues, also band directors.  We can sit together at a conference and not know each other at all, but when we start talking band and band directors, we’re immediately family, with those shared experiences that quickly bring us together as lifelong friends.

If I were to create a portrait of a band director, it would be a person who is selfless, who gives his time, talent and resources for students, who teaches not only music, but life skills necessary for people to work together and succeed in whatever path they choose to take.  They sacrifice other things dear to them – sometimes their own families, because their passion for the music, the art form and the students is so intense.  Some say that band directors tend to be all about themselves and their program, and yes, I’m sure some of them are.  I believe most are like my band director, who at age 80 continues to love band and his “children”.