INTERVIEW: Larry Brownlee, Director of Bands at Sterling High School

Bowen Boyack: Tell me about yourself and what inspired you to get this job as a band Director at Sterling High School.

Larry Brownlee: I am in my 34th year of teaching at Sterling High School.  I am actually a graduate of SHS.  I began my teaching career at Chase, Kansas and went to Eureka, Kansas for three years.  At that time, the position at Sterling High School opened and I applied for it, partly because it was my alma mater, but also because of the strong tradition the band had at Sterling.

BB: Tell me about the Band Program here at SHS.

LB: The band program in Sterling begins in the sixth grade.  In middle school the students have the opportunity to attend two music festivals and perform three concerts.  Performance opportunities expand in high school with multiple festival opportunities for solos, ensembles, jazz band, and concert band.  The band performs in three home concerts, plays for all home football and basketball games, and travels with the teams for post-season games.  The High School Concert Band has been selected to perform at the Kansas Music Educators Association state convention on 9 occasions.  The SHS Jazz Band has performed once, and the Junior High Band has performed one time.  The SHS Jazz has also been invited to perform at the MENC Southwest Conference in Dallas, Texas.  The band consistently receives I ratings at State Music Festivals, has three times been awarded the Sweepstakes Trophy for best overall band at the Worlds of Fun Music Festival, and has been selected as a GRAMMY Signature School for outstanding music education. 

BB: What inspired your musical selections this year for marching band? What competitions did you go to this marching season and what ratings/scores did you get?

LB: We do very limited marching at Sterling.  We are a small school (150 in the high school and 60 students in the band). Nearly all of our students are also involved in sports, forensics, drama, debate, and many other school activities.  When I take out the football players from the band, our brass section is usually much smaller.  So, we mostly stay in the stands and focus on a really strong pep band.  We do put the middle school and high school bands together for homecoming.  That gives us a good amount of people to put on the field.  The high school band also marches at the Kansas State Fair where we have received I+ ratings the past several years.  We have two high school Jazz Bands and both performed at the McPherson and HCC Bryce Luty Jazz Festivals and received exceptional reviews from the adjudicators.  The top Jazz Band will be performing at the Wichita Jazz Festival at the end of March.

BB: Tell me about the upcoming trips you will be taking within the next 3-4 years.

LB: The SHS Concert Band will be performing at Washington, D.C. the last week of May.  This is a trip that we take every four years.  While there, the band will perform a concert at the Lincoln Memorial and the World War II Memorial.  They will also tour many of the museums and monuments of D.C.  The other trip, taken between the Washington, D.C. trips, that the band takes is a long weekend trip to Kansas City.  While there, the band performs at the Worlds of Fun Band Festival, attends a Royals game, and takes in other events and activities in the Kansas City area.

BB: What concert band repertoire are your bands playing this year? When are your upcoming performances?

LB:  Our next concert for the band is actually on Monday night, March 4.  The pieces the high school band will perform are:

"Symphony No. 1: In Memoriam Dresden" by Daniel Bukvich

"March on a Russian Hymnsong" by David Holsinger

"Waves" by Brian Balmages

"Armenian Rhapsody" by Johnnie Vinson

"Elements: A Petite Symphony" by Brian Balmages

"Black Granite III" by James Hosey

We will perform at the State Music Festival on April 10.  We also do a Children's Concert for area elementary school children on May 8 and have our final home concert on May 9. 

BB: Looking forward to 2019, any plans you would be willing to share?

LB: 2019 will be a big change for our band program.  I will actually be retiring from public school education and will be teaching full-time at Sterling College.  While there I will be directing the bands and teaching music education classes.  We are currently in the process of finding a director to take over the position here in Sterling.

Thank you so much, Mr. Brownlee. Good luck on your retirement and transition to teaching at Sterling College.