New director fine-tuning McIntosh band for coming season

By PAT NEWMAN
Staff Writer

McIntosh High School's marching band was instructed to remember three things in preparation for this week's band camp — have a thermos for water, remember to bring a hat and, please, no Alabama jokes.

Barbara Baker, who took over directorship of the school's band this year, is a woman brimming with ideas and a plan to make them happen. She also happens to be an Alabama native. For six days, she will drill her 116 band members on the campus of her alma mater, Jacksonville State University, for the upcoming football halftime show at McIntosh.

“Look at the band this year; you'll be in for an exciting performance,” Baker said Sunday prior to leaving for camp. “I'm really excited about it, and the kids are also,” she added, describing the music and theme for this year's show.

“Most of the music comes from Bette Midler's movie, “For the Boys.” It's set around three wars and we're doing a lot of the WWII swing and big band music,” she explained. Some costuming also will be added for a touch of authenticity. Baker expects her band to get comfortable with a core collection of songs this week, with mastery expected within six to eight weeks. “As the season goes on, we'll change certain things, and add things,” she said, noting her desire to keep things interesting.

For rookie band members faced with learning to position their instruments, march and play simultaneously, Baker has assured them that in time, “It's second nature.” “It all becomes one process instead of three separate activities,” she said. Baker makes her job look easy, calmly taking on three bands and three major performances a year.

Maybe her even tone comes with experience. This is Baker's third year in the Fayette County school system. During her first year, she worked with the elementary school bands, and assisted at McIntosh and Booth Middle School. The following year, she divided her time among four schools including McIntosh, and took over the top job this spring.

Prior to coming to Fayette County, she worked in Alabama schools and schools in Cobb County. Baker claims her desire to major in music education was purely natural. “It's something that felt right. Music is something I've always been good at and felt comfortable with,” she explained.

Surprisingly, her family is not musically inclined. “My sister took piano lessons just long enough for my parents to go out and buy a piano and get upset when she quit,” Baker joked. “I was the odd ball in the family. I'd practice six hours a night and my parents would be saying, “Is she ever going to stop?'” she laughed.

Baker's area of expertise is the clarinet, but she can also handle the saxophone, violin and a variety of other instruments. “And I love to sing. People may not love to hear me, but I'm a good blender,” she said.

With a demanding rehearsal schedule, and football season ahead, not to mention Christmas concerts and band festivals following close behind, Baker admits that having a life outside of school and band can be a challenge. She recalled how she went out for pizza with friends, also band directors, last weekend, only to end up sketching diagrams of marching patterns on a paper napkin. “We tried not to talk about band, but we gave up after five minutes,” she said.

Baker is pleased to have 116 members marching this year, but would like to see more students join the ranks. There were approximately twice that number marching when she arrived in the county. Baker claims that part of the drop is due to the opening of Starr's Mill High School. She believes the other reason is students' hesitancy to take on the commitment of band when they are also faced with balancing a heavy academic load in order to meet the new Georgia high school graduation requirements.

With funding based on the number of students enrolled in the school's band program, running a top notch program when numbers are down makes budgeting even more challenging, Baker admitted. A large share of money funneled into the program comes from band booster fund-raising activities.

Transporting the band to and from games and performances takes up a significant piece of change. Baker would like to see all bands in the county on an equitable playing field, a feat she believes may result from passage of the sales tax/bond package proposed by the school board.

Personally, Baker said her goal of teaching music in the elementary grades through high school has been met. “I thought I'd like to teach on the college level, but right now, I'm getting pretty happy... we'll see, this might be it."