Hayes High School had yet another change to its orchestra director over the summer.
Picking up the baton and taking the position of the new orchestra director, Allison Selley said that she came looking for new opportunities here at Hayes.
After getting to know choir director Dara Gillis and band director Bill Fowles, she said that they have created a positive environment together in the music program.
“They are super funny, honest [and] encouraging,” Selley said. “They’re the people that I know I can talk to about anything.”
Throughout the past two years, the music program at Hayes has gone through many changes. The music department added Keegan Lammers, a former Hayes Alumni, and Fowles into the positions of orchestra and band director last school year after former orchestra director Stacy Lemke and former band director Andy Douherty left the district.
Fowles cited his reason for applying to the position to be the school’s well-known music program.
“I knew I was getting involved in a really strong music program with really strong teachers,” Fowles said.
Band’s new frontier
With upperclassmen in band learning under two different band directors throughout their high school careers, some have noticed the different methods of teaching between the directors.
“Mr. Fowles is more open to failure and is more willing to help improve students, rather than expecting them to get it right on the first try,” said Orion Kapp, a junior in both band and choir.
This is the second year that Fowles has been directing the Hayes Grand Pacer Marching Band. In addition to a July camp that takes place before the start of the school year, they practice almost eight hours a week as an ensemble outside of band classes during their season.
“I think a lot of people overlook how much work goes into it,” Fowles said.
This year’s show, which will be performed at competitions and halftime shows, is titled “One Giant Leap” and is inspired by the moon landing of 1969. The arrangement by Michael J. Miller includes excerpts from pieces such as 2001’s “Space Odyssey,” “Mars Bringer of War” and “Space Oddity.”
With high expectations for this season and over 100 members, the marching band had their first competition on September 16, where they started their season by receiving a superior rating and qualifying for states.
Last year, Fowles made a bet with the band promising that if they received a superior rating at the state competition then he would shave his head.
“Fowles is always trying to entice us and push us forward to do the best we can,” Kapp said.
The marching band will perform in the Magic Kingdom down Main Street U.S.A. at Disney World in March of this school year. They also will have the opportunity to workshop their performance with Disney musicians while in the theme park.
“I expect my students to prepare well, and play well,” Fowles said. “But at the same time making sure they have fun.”
A look into orchestra
With yet another change to the staff this year, orchestra students have had a different director for each of the past three years.
“We don’t have a teacher to see our progress over the years as we play,” said senior and member of the Hayes Players Rosemary Cranston.
Selley, the newest orchestra director, is a violist who graduated from Bowling Green State University. She had previously been the orchestra director for Washington Local Schools and is going into her 3rd year of teaching. The orchestra program at Hayes is double the size of those that she has taught in the past.
“Everyone is excited about the next thing that we can accomplish,” Selley said.
With Selley becoming the newest director at Hayes, the students get to see her twist on the orchestra and differing methods of teaching compared to the previous directors Lammers and Lemke. “It’s good for a director to be hard and push you but it’s also good for them to be understanding,” Cranston said. “With those two orchestra directors, you get the best of both worlds.”
With Lemke involved with the spring musical, she still gets to connect with her past students. Gillis and Lemke work together to create shows each year.
Updates on choir
With five different choirs under the direction of Gillis, she has a wide variety of singers from freshmen to seniors. However, keeps her standards and methods the same for each group.
“I expect my students to be able to sing challenging literature that a lot of high school groups wouldn’t be able to sing,” Gillis said.
Gillis has been teaching for 21 years and has seen the changes in the music program over time.
“We all support one another,” Gillis said. “We have a really, really supportive music faculty.”
This year, the choir and the orchestra will not be going on a trip, but there are still competitions and concerts for students to look forward to. Each performing arts student also gets the opportunity to participate in the annual Solo and Ensemble contest later this year.
This is a year of change in the Hayes music department, and each group and director has put in effort beyond keeping the attention of listeners and viewers. Each group has upcoming concerts with choirs on October 2. Orchestra’s concert is the following week on October 9. The band has upcoming competitions before they are to perform for their All City Band Festival on December 12.
“Come see as many of the groups as [you] can this year,” Gillis said.
