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Hernando Today

Getting Back In Tune

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By TONY MARRERO

Hernando Today

Published: January 24, 2009

BROOKSVILLE - Nature Coast Technical High's concert band was rolling smoothly through "A Welsh Rhapsody" Friday morning when Chris Hinkle dropped his hands.

The music stopped as about 20 students lowered their instruments and Hinkle examined the score in front of him.

"OK, that was my bad," said Hinkle, a 17-year-old senior taking his shot at directing.

A minute later, Hinkle raised his hands and "Rhapsody" began again.

The moment in the band room is an apt metaphor for the state of the school's band program, say students and school principal Tizzy Schoelles: A little uncertain, but poised to progress again.

The program was dealt a blow earlier this month when now-former director Timothy Brightbill was arrested on charges of unlawful sexual activity with a minor. The mother of a 17-year-old female student caught Brightbill on top of the girl in her room on New Year's Eve. Both were clad only in their underwear.

Both Brightbill and the girl admitted to performing sex acts on one another that day and another last November at Brightbill's home in Spring Hill.

Brightbill, Nature Coast's third band director in its six-year history, resigned earlier this month. His first trial appearance is slated for Jan. 27.

As Schoelles searches for a replacement, the band plays on with thoughts of upcoming shows and competitions.

But by all accounts, the first days back after the winter break were difficult ones.

"It's been kind of rough," admitted Hinkle, who plays the trumpet and French horn, among other instruments. "But as a whole I think we're handling it pretty well."

Amanda Mole, a 23-year-old University of South Florida graduate who worked with the band as an intern and is now filling in as director on a temporary basis, agreed.

And moving on is no small feat, Mole said. Students were stunned and some clearly distraught by the arrest of a man respected by many.

"A lot of them were very close to him," Mole said. "Regardless of what happened, Tim Brightbill was a great band director."

"They don't want to dwell on it," said Mole, who was recently hired as band director at Powell Middle School. "They have a tremendous will to move forward."

The first week back, Schoelles met with the band students to talk about the news.

She offered the services of a counselor to help students work through their feelings, and several took advantage of that, Schoelles said.

She also felt compelled to make sure to set what she called the "moral compass."

"We have to remember we still have a victim on campus," Schoelles told the students, referring to the 17-year-old girl. "We will not tolerate blaming the victim."

The students so far have done Schoelles proud, she said, showing respect for the girl and working to move the program forward.

"The student leadership has stepped up in a big way," she said. "The kids are working really hard to pull it all together."

Last month, Brightbill had decided to put off the concert band's winter performance to have more time to prepare. This month, Schoelles has again postponed the show, which had been scheduled for this week.

"We're not going to put on a show the students aren't proud of," she said. "We're hoping to have a band director in here to give them the opportunity to do it right."

Schoelles has asked the students to get involved in the search for a director, soliciting input about what they'd like to see in a new leader.

Schoelles has already received several applications and hopes to begin interviews in the next two weeks. At least one student will sit on an interview committee, she said.

Candidates will certainly be asked about the direction they'd like to take the band program.

"This is a perfect time to assess and evaluate," Schoelles said.

Seniors comprise about half of the band program. There is an immediate need to get reference letters written for those students who want to make music a central part of their college plans. Schoelles asked students to write essays about their collegiate musical goals to help administrators craft those letters.

Superintendent Wayne Alexander said he wasn't surprised at how "resilient" the band students have been, and applauded Schoelles' approach to include them in the director search.

"Kids are usually right-on with the characteristics and quality of people they want to work with," Alexander said.

'Good already, but room for improvement'

Nature Coast, now in its sixth year, still has the smallest program of the county's four high schools with about 60 total students in the concert, symphony, marching and jazz bands.

For that reason, the marching band has never tried to rival the elaborate halftime shows of, say, Springstead High School, Schoelles said. With fewer instruments, Nature Coast's concert band tends toward more "artistic" pieces, such as the recent show that featured songs with a Far Eastern theme, Schoelles said

It was an impressive performance, Schoelles said, but she recalls hearing a few nasty remarks from audience members who apparently didn't approve of the nontraditional choice.

"John Philip Sousa it wasn't," Schoelles said. "But the kids were proud of it."

At competitions, Nature Coast enters a category for smaller bands. But the band still has a presence on the field when the football team takes a break, and has done well in its own right at competitions. A line of trophies from the past year alone sits along one wall in the band room.

When asked Friday which of them makes them proudest, band members said the 14th place in the 2008 state invitational competition - the highest the band has earned so far.

"There is room for improvement, even though we're good already. We know that," said Virginia Collins, a junior and multi-instrumentalist who plays piano in the concert band and bass in the jazz ensemble.

The next show will include some tough numbers, including the up-tempo "Catch Me if You Can" and an arrangement of "The Devil Went Down To Georgia" featuring dueling xylophones.

The band also is working toward a performance assessment event slated for March 13 in Wesley Chapel. Bands don't compete against one another, but rather are rated on the merits of their performance,

Collins said she hopes the band lands a new director who can make the most of its potential.

"I'd like to see us playing songs that are even more difficult," she said, "and songs that have a lot of emotion."

Reporter Tony Marrero can be reached at 352-544-5286 or lmarrero@hernandotoday.com.

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