Sound plan
Saxophonist’s idea was music to director’s ears
April Franks struck just the right note in her message to Aaron Bailey. The former Olive Branch High School band member messaged Bailey, the current band director at Olive Branch, looking for a place to play.
Since graduating from high school and college at Mississippi State University, she explained, there was no place to play her saxophone.
What about forming a community band, she asked.
Bailey liked the sound of that.
“So we started a Facebook group,” Bailey said. “Before long, we had 15 or 20 people who said they wanted to do it (form a community band). We met here at the school on a Thursday night for the first time last week, and tonight we’re hoping to have even more.”
Bailey got his wish. About 30 showed up for the second weekly practice session last Thursday evening, and he’s hoping the number will only continue to increase as word continues to circulate.
Participants so far aren’t coming only from Olive Branch, but from other areas of DeSoto County and beyond.
Interested musicians have shown up from neighboring Tate County and from Germantown.
“My mother works at Methodist Hospital in Olive Branch, and she heard about this from a co-worker,” Elisha Johnson said as she packed her French horn to leave last Thursday.
A student at Germantown High, Johnson said the Olive Branch band just gives her another opportunity to play.
Bailey said the idea is to attract people of all ages and experience levels.
“We welcome any instrument, any skill level,” he said.
“We try to include music for anyone from a seventhgrader to pieces that would be challenging for an adult.”
Indeed, last Thursday’s gathering included everyone from current high school students to band directors at other schools who came out to keep their skills sharp.
When it’s all said and done, Bailey said he’d like to have as many as 60-70 musicians playing a full range of instruments.
“That would be a full ensemble,” he said, “which might be a little much to hope for. But if we could get 30 or 40, that would be great.”
Bailey said he hopes the group will be good enough after some practice to have public performances on holidays, such as July Fourth if they’re ready by then.
Or, he said, he could see staging some concerts built around a theme, such as Elvis music, the Blues or rock and roll.
Percussion instruments are available, but musicians otherwise provide their own instruments.
George Pokorski, a retired band director from Marion, Arkansas, who now lives in Olive Branch, said he’s thrilled by the prospect of a community band.
“This is really hard to do,” he said of forming a band. “When it happens, it’s incredible. I’m going to try to be here every week to help make it happen.”
We welcome any instrument, any skill level. We try to include music for anyone from a seventh-grader to pieces that would be challenging for an adult.”
Aaron Bailey, Olive Branch High School band director