INTERVIEW: Garrett Jones, Director of Bands at Rossville High School

Bowen Boyack: Tell me a little bit about yourself and what inspired you to become band director at Rossville.

Garrett Jones: My musical journey started at home when my mom started teaching me piano around age 5. I was homeschooled for a few years and started playing Alto Saxophone in 4th grade, taking private lessons with a graduate student at The University of Kansas (KU). I joined public school again in 5th grade in the Perry-Lecompton School District, under director Mike Maloun, and graduated from PLHS in 2009. I initially thought I was going to be an engineer, and went to Colby Community College (CCC) with the primary goal of getting pre-engineering courses out of the way, but I also played in instrumental ensembles and sang in the choir. After two years at CCC, I transferred to KU in the Fall of 2011 and stopped playing/singing entirely to focus on Architectural Engineering. Due to some family and personal circumstances, I realized after my first year in those studies that a change was needed. I spoke with the KU School of Music advisors and switched to a Music Education tract for the Fall of 2012. I finish my student teaching with Neal Purvis at Shawnee Heights High School in the Spring of 2015. I had a number of interviews, but Rossville looked like a place where I could really learn a lot and grow a program, so I took the job! BB: Tell me a little bit about the band program at RHS.

GJ: Rossville High School has a student population of 160 (averaging 40 students per graduating class), and our concert band is currently at 27 members, with the junior high band boasting 44. There have been some past successes here, but I am working to develop a culture of lasting musical excellence. My job is busy and varied every day, as I teach the following ensembles every day: 5th Grade Band, 6th Grade Band, 7th/8th Grade Band, Senior High Band, 7th/8th Choir, Senior High Choir, Music Technology, and Beginning Guitar. BB: What inspired your musical Selections this year for Marching Band? What competitions did you go to and what ratings/scores did you get?

GJ: Rossville has been a sports, and specifically Football-dominant, school for many, many years, which is not to say that marching isn't possible, it just hasn't been an expectation and would take a very strong-willed director who is passionate about marching band. I have learned through photo albums and past members that Rossville had new uniforms made in 1994 for the band to march in, but after two seasons they got hung up and only brought down for parades. After that, the uniforms rarely came down at all, so 20+ years later, we cleaned the uniforms and had them turned into keepsake, high quality totes/bags to sell as a fundraiser for our program. We play in parades (park and bark), as well as set up in the stands during games, but we do not march shows in the Fall - too many students are shared between activities to make it feasible at this time. BB: Tell me about the upcoming trips your band will be taking.

GJ: The Senior High Band and Choir are traveling to Chicago March 13-17 this year. It's the first out-of-state trip the music program has taken in well over 10 years, and the kids are very excited. It's going to be a very rewarding trip, with a lot of unique, once in a lifetime experiences for these kids. We will also be performing at a Chicago University and receiving a clinic from one of their professors of music. We are looking at a shorter, smaller trip to Dallas for the 2020-2021 school year. Perform at a festival one day, spend another day at Six Flags, then head home.

BB: What concert band repertoire are your bands playing this year? When are your upcoming performances? GJ: We have played a lot of repertoire for a band our size. I want my students to be exposed to the classics, but I also make sure to have a good variety in every concert cycle. We are currently preparing Overture for Winds by Charles Carter, With Every Sunset by Richard Saucedo, El Capitan by Sousa/Fennell, and finally Flute Royale by David Bennett (featuring our 1st Chair Flute 1234A All-State foreign exchange student from Belgium) - these selections will be featured on our Monday, March 4th concert at 7:30 PM at Rossville Jr/Sr High School.

BB: Looking forward to 2019, any plans you would be willing to share? GJ: This is my 4th year, and 2019-2020 will be my 5th year at Rossville, so I'm excited to see the students I started in 5th grade finally make it to their Freshman year. I have plans to push the band to new heights and know that they will rise to the challenge. Thank you for your time and support of Kansas Bands.

Thank you, Garrett. Best of luck to you and the RHS bands in your future.