Who could’ve imagined band class in a dimly lit, half-abandoned, bookless library, strewn with awkwardly placed electrical cords and ancient chairs? From the makeshift classroom to the readjustment in leadership with David Centers’ return as head director, this has been an odd year to be a band kid; still, many are adapting well. In December, three exemplary seniors made All-State: Harper Scott, Molly Spiers, and Trinity Vanmeter made second chair flute, 28th chair clarinet, and 15th chair soprano clarinet, respectively.
“This is year 26 for me and it’s definitely one of the most challenging years,” Band Director David Centers said.
After leaving Central in 2019 to work as a band director in Oldham County, he came back to his old teaching grounds, his familiar spaces now rubble before a sleek new Central.
Band students are currently lacking storage in the old library. Estimations on the new band room are as late as July, and though the seniors will not get to enjoy it, they are content.
“Centers has really cleaned it up and tried to make it the best he can,” Scott said. “We’re working with what we’ve got.”
“Working” is a fitting word. Scott made third chair of concert band her junior year and then second chair of symphonic band this year, which is a major jump in skill.
Getting to that point of success takes painstaking and consistent practice. The 10,000–hour figure typically attributed to masters of a craft is an underestimate for band kids.
Scott practices an hour every day after coming home at 8 pm, the endpoint of a day consumed by AP Calculus, band practice, and a part-time job. She rehearses for her pieces for school and the Louisville Youth Wind Symphony. From the time she wakes up to the time her head is on her pillow, she is working to be a better flutist.
The three woodwinds share their work ethic, but also their genuine love of music.
“I use music as a way to express myself when I sometimes feel like I can’t,” VanMeter said. “It gives me something to be proud of, and I think that is really important.”
Although band has had an impact on many students’ lives, Centers believes that the education system is putting the arts on the back burner.
“The biggest thing that I’ve seen changed in my 26 years of teaching is the folks at the Kentucky Department of Education, and even higher levels, seem to be de-emphasizing the performing arts and replacing them with core classes,” Centers said.
With so many people finding their school family in band, Centers wishes that creating music had a place in everyone’s lives. The three All-State members are all keeping music close to their hearts. Scott is planning to double major in music and biology, Spiers aspires to be a music therapist, and VanMeter wants to teach band.
Regardless of where they end up, these three have shown that the arts are not a luxury, hobby, or resume filler. It is a source of community, comfort, and catharsis.
“Whenever I’m feeling down or not as confident in myself, I go back and listen to my old concert recordings or look at pictures from my time in marching band, and suddenly I feel better,” Spiers said. “Music is my therapy.”
