Music making a comeback at Hemingway High

HEMINGWAY— After an absence of several years, the music program at Hemingway High School is beginning to show signs of life again.

A drum line was formed at the beginning of the year and has been conducting regular after-school rehearsals. The same can be said for the school’s young chorus, which made its debut recently during a school district board meeting in Hemingway.

Rick Gardner, instructor of music at Hemingway, has been working to rebuild a program that, even in its heyday some 10 years ago, was less than formidable. There were no public performance held, just rehearsals and classes, but Gardner is hoping to change that and ultimately form the Hemingway High School Marching Band.

“We want a marching band,” Gardner said, outlining the direction he envisions for program in a recent interview. “We want a marching band on the field to do a halftime show.”

The project has started small, with the drum line and chorus, but little by little it continues to grow. Gardner is in the process of adding a few horn instruments to the drum line already in place, making a pep band that can perform at basketball games beginning in January or February. It will be from that pep band he said he hopes the marching band will spring.

Gardner has the support of his principal, Levi Keith, who was instrumental in bringing the new choir to the school. But for the plan to press on, Gardner said, community support — most importantly from students’ parents — is vital.

“You need to have will from the kids, and put the kids’ will with the parents’ (involvement), together,” he said.

The commitment Gardner is asking for will involve some monetary support from parents of students who want to participate. While the school had some instruments left over from when the program was operational, mostly drums that were repaired by the district, students will have to purchase their own instruments.

In the long run, Gardner said, he hopes parents see the benefits of musical education and see an instrument as a worthwhile investment.

Gardner also said once a band and chorus is firmly established, other performances would fall into place, including at Christmas and possibly others throughout the year.

The most recent public performance from the up-and-coming music program included a rendition of the “Star Spangled Banner” at senior night during Hemingway’s football victory over Lake View on Friday.

While Gardner teaches music appreciation for all grades, he said the only time the drum line and chorus can meet is after school. He hopes to incorporate seventh- and eighth-grade students into the program soon, provided he receives support from parents and faculty, and acquire a period during the school day for rehearsals.

“After school is great, but is not guaranteed,” he said.

Gardner was a part of the original music program for 10 years, but he said the goal is to improve on and not to recreate what was once at Hemingway. He taught music to grades four through eight at the both the high school and Chavis Elementary. With the consolidation of schools and the closing of Chavis, the program dwindled.

One of the main goals Gardner said he has is to show his students the rush that performing for an audience can bring.

“I tell my students, what we do in the band room is great,” he said. “But nobody hears it.”