FHS band needs committed students, director

I am writing in response to your June 22 article about the Fallbrook High School (FHS) band. My daughter has been in band for the past three years. The first two years, the program was thriving and winning awards. In contrast, the 2005/2006 season suffered the loss of many students. It would be a great loss to see it languish further.

Marching band requires much more than showing up for Friday night football games. Band starts rehearsing two weeks before school starts. Once school starts, the band rehearses after school four days a week with competitions every Saturday. Extra personnel are needed to pull a competitive “field show” together. These include marching instructors, wind instructors, color guard instructors, etc.

For the 2005/2006 season, an inexperienced first-year teacher was hired. The previous director had left abruptly amid rumors the administration was unsupportive. The new director tried his best, but students quit the program at an alarming rate. This director was unable repair the damaged morale.

Students should not have quit band. It only made matters worse. I did not allow my daughter to quit, event though she talked about it.

I wrote former Principal Hellams in September. She assured me that things would stabilize, but by the end of the year 60 students had quit. With the loss of so many students, the new position is a “part-time position.” This makes it even harder to rebuild the program.

Rancho Buena Vista High School in Vista has a very fine program that marched in the Rose Parade a few years back. Poway has an excellent program. Why is it so hard for Fallbrook to retain directors? Cannot FHS be one of the schools with a tradition of excellence in its marching band and concert band programs? The answer is a resounding yes.

Fallbrook is very supportive of the arts. I urge the people in control of hiring the band director to find a seasoned professional with a proven track record to head the band. Please do not look for the cheapest person or the program may disappear altogether.