For over 10 years, Brian Sims was the director of the White Station High School (WSHS) band. However, on June 17, 2024, the Houston High School (HHS) band announced a change in leadership; HHS would now have a new associate band director — Sims.
Over the summer, the band was introduced to Cozbia Smith, the new WSHS band director. Smith has already enforced multiple changes within the band, including rebranding it to The Spartan Legion. These changes have caused mixed emotions among some band members. Many students have left the concert band, the marching band or have left altogether.
Currently, the WSHS band is split up into three different class periods. First period is symphonic, second is wind ensemble and third is jazz, all of which are referred to as “concert band.” Each school year, returning band students usually stay in their previous class period or audition to move up to the next level. Smith, however, is requiring the members of wind ensemble to reaudition. This audition allows musicians to show off their abilities, playing major, minor and chromatic scales, a prepared piece and sight-reading. Participants must perform as many of these five skills as possible.
“In concert band, I think the structure of the class has changed a lot with like a whole new director,” Alina Liu (12) said. “But, I think it’s too early in the year where we’re just getting started to say there’s been much change in the concert band. [Smith] has different goals from Mr. Sims in terms of what he wants to achieve, and also, he’s been asking the students about where we are, so he’s currently … getting used to directing new students. He’s not very familiar with us, so right now he’s relying a lot on feedback from us.”
In previous years, marching band practices were held twice a week, usually lasting until 3:30 p.m. or 4 p.m. after school to prepare for Friday football games. However, practices now follow a much more rigorous schedule. Band members go to practices five days a week from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m., even rehearsing between school and football games.
“The increased practice times is a big part of why I couldn’t fit it on my schedule anymore,” Liu said. “Because it’s like more days of the week than before, and also longer to like 6 p.m., it would like push out any other after-school activities, or just like any other outside-of-school activities I would want to do besides band. So if I put that on my schedule, it would push out a lot of other things for me, so I think it’s a lot more demanding this year.”
While Smith’s plans for the band department do not include offering AP and honors music theory to students anymore, he is looking towards creating a percussion class and guitar class. Smith also plans for The Spartan Legions to participate in more events outside of WSHS. So far, he has added multiple competitions, parades and other events, like the Southern Heritage Classic parade, to the schedule. The Southern Heritage Classic is an HBCU (historically Black college or university) rivalry football game hosted in Memphis at the Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium. The event also hosts a parade that features high school marching bands, which will occur on Sept. 14. There have also been discussions about the possibility of playing at basketball games. “[For] the parades, we’re going to the Southern Heritage Classic,” Kourtlynn Faulkner (11) said. “And every year, my grandma and my auntie, we go, and it’s like so cool to watch everybody, so for me to be in that, that’s gonna be great … We’re also doing the battle of the bands, which is basically where a couple schools get together and just play music [and] exchange music back and forth.”
The Spartan Legion has gotten used to playing songs like “Choppa Style,” “Blinding Lights” and “Seven Nation Army.” Now, they are playing more recent hip-hop and pop songs, like “Cruel Summer” and the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s theme song. Some band members have expressed their appreciation for the changes in stand tunes and field shows. For example, the previous year’s field show was a compilation of songs by Tower of Power, a band which many students may not be familiar with. This year, their field show includes songs by Bruno Mars.
“Since last year, there’s been great improvement with the whole band, like our sound,” Faulkner said . “I feel like since we kind of know what music we’re playing, like people know the songs, like they listen to the songs, that it’s kind of fun now to play the music because last year it was like, ‘oh, I have to play this, I don’t wanna play this,’ and stuff like that. But with this music, it’s like, ‘I wanna play it and I wanna be here.’’’
Most years, the majority of students leaving the band have graduated. However, over the summer, the band saw a larger loss of members following logistical changes. Due to the greatly increased practice times, many students struggled to find ways to fit marching and concert band into their schedules. Since band classes are during the first three periods of the day, multiple people had conflicting classes. Other students may have had outside responsibilities, like sports teams, clubs and jobs that interfere with the enhanced schedule.
“I know for a lot of people they had started to get jobs and do clubs,” Georgia Brooks (11) said. “So … the scheduling – having to spend more time at the school as compared to previous years – was something that was kind of difficult to … keep them in band because they wouldn’t be able to attend the practices.”
Another consequence of these conflicts was that as some members left, others felt that the changes in the band’s composition were too much to handle. As their friends decided not to pursue band any longer, they opted out as well. Brooks, a former band member, was a member of the mellophone section in her freshman and sophomore years of high school. One member of her section graduated and another left due to scheduling conflicts, leaving only her and one other mellophone player in the band. Due to half of her section and some of her other friends leaving, she parted ways with her mellophone as well.
“I personally decided to leave band,” Brooks said. “Because with all of the changes, a lot of people that I had known that I was really close with also had begun to leave band – and yes, I still really enjoyed it – but it just hadn’t felt like something that I would have been as passionate about if I didn’t have other people that I enjoyed being there with me.”
The majority of band members decided to stay in the band despite the large number of changes being made. While some students with leadership positions left, most stayed. People may feel obligated to stay after being in band for years, or are kept in by the strong community and friendships that they may have formed. Some students are also planning on pursuing marching band or music in general in college and beyond.
“I decided to stay because I had applied for a leadership position,” Faulkner said. “I felt like … if I would’ve left, then I would’ve been missing something, and leaving something behind, if that makes sense.”
One appealing part of band to many students is the strong community that comes with membership. The members within each instrument section, like flutes, clarinets and trumpets, are often a close-knit group due to the amount of time they spend together at practices and games. Even students who left band still maintain friendships with those who were in their sections.
“I know [there are] a lot of incoming freshmen, so I guess [the band is] definitely gonna have to adjust to all the new people,” Brooks said. “But – the people that I still know – they all still seem to be very close. I still see pictures of them, like going, you know, like out to lunch or something during band camp or just after school. So, as far as I’m aware, they’re still very close.”
Sophomores and juniors who left band still have a year or two left of high school, and may decide to rejoin band. Some members have chosen to return in their senior year due to an open class schedule, less responsibilities outside of school or a shift in priorities. For other students, leaving band does not eliminate their passion for music and does not stop them from playing their instruments. Many of these students also still have strong ties with the community.
“I’m definitely considering returning to marching band,” Brooks said. “I don’t know about concert yet though, because personally, I have never been as interested in concert band. I honestly don’t really have a reason, I’ve just always really preferred marching band compared to concert.”
Whether students decided to stay or leave, there were many factors to take into account when making this decision. The drastic changes that affected the band may have influenced people’s personal commitment to and involvement with the program, but they may still support it. After going through an arpeggio of changes, including renascent rebrands, schedule shifts, musical modulations, membership modifications and directional differences, the Spartan Legion is still finding the right tempo, but its final measure has yet to be performed.
“I think it’s a good thing things are changing for the better [for] most people,” Liu said. “From what I’ve seen so far, these changes are like making the band sound better, and more people who are joining the band are enjoying it more. So, I think overall the changes are better for the band. It’s just a little sad for me to see it change so much from the way I used to know it.”
