A strong music ecosystem centers on a dynamic, symbiotic relationship between a university and a local school; one based on trust and win-win opportunities for both programs. When I began at Augusta University, there were several programs in place to bring students to campus. The existing Augusta University Music Conservatory program is our primary K-12 Education Outreach initiative through private lessons, elementary and secondary extracurricular ensembles, and community-driven initiatives like the Sand Hills String Band. The Music Conservatory also organizes a weeklong Summer Music day camp, where K-12 students participate in band, orchestra, and choir, musicianship class, sectionals, and electives such as conducting, piano, music theory/composition, jazz, and musical theater.
The first step to expand our relationships involved establishing a pre-assessment Concert Band Festival for bands to receive feedback before their Large Group Performance Evaluation (Georgia) and Concert Performance Assessment (South Carolina). I wanted an affordable local option for the area band programs that brought in outside perspectives and gave a performance opportunity in a great facility, since many area schools routinely perform in cafetoriums or gyms. For the first year, registration was $100 per band, which is less expensive than LGPE and CPA registration, and 20 ensembles attended over two days. In the second year, we added time for onstage clinics and through a corporate sponsorship program, underwrote additional costs to keep registration at $100 per band while also raising over $3,000 in scholarship funds for our Music Conservatory program. The third and most recent Festival expanded from two to three days, brought 31 bands to campus, maintained the onstage clinic format, continued the sponsorship program to raise $3,500 in scholarships, and kept registration costs at $100 per band. Robert Freeman, the Academy of Richmond County band director, described his experience with the Concert Band Festival:
The Augusta University Concert Band Festival has been the most beneficial experience for my band. Large Group Performance Evaluation (LGPE) can be very nerve-racking for my students, especially the beginners. This pre-LGPE opportunity allows those students to grasp an understanding of the LGPE process: stage etiquette, music repertoire prep, on-stage feedback, and auditorium acoustics. These experiences have enriched and greatly impacted my band program.
The second step arose by necessity. During my first year, I learned the local GMEA District Honor Band event had inconsistencies with finding and retaining rehearsal and performance venues. My department chair, faculty colleagues, and campus staff worked together to secure rehearsal and performance spaces for the 2025 Honor Band event. The ancillary benefits were showcasing our Department of Music’s facilities to 300 middle and high school band students and making Augusta University a hub for bands in the greater Augusta region. We brought the event back to campus in 2026 and look forward to continuing hosting future District Honor Band weekends.
The third step was inviting schools for side-by-side rehearsals with the Augusta University Wind Ensemble. Participating schools come to campus during our Wind Ensemble rehearsal time with whatever music they are currently learning. During the first half of rehearsal, students participate in sectionals with the visiting band students and come together in the second half for a full band side-by-side rehearsal. The Wind Ensemble students sight-read the music and get time to provide individual feedback to the visiting students. The Augusta University students have enjoyed serving as mentors for the visiting students.
The connection with school programs stems from the combination of bringing students to campus and going directly to school programs through routine visits to local school band programs. Our Music Education majors do sectional or marching band tech work. This creates many win-wins through providing pre-professional teaching opportunities for current students, allowing them to apply their classroom knowledge and skills to real world experiences, help local programs compliment their teaching staff, and have those educators serve as mentors for pre-service educators. Jared Best, Director of Bands at Lakeside High School, highlights this important attribute of a healthy symbiotic dynamic:
Getting students to participate in on-campus events should be something every director in our area is invested in, because a thriving local collegiate music scene can be powerfully symbiotic with what we do. If there are more kids involved in music at Augusta University, there are more human resources for us—marching band instructors, masterclass and private lesson teachers, chamber music coaches, etc.— who are paid or volunteer.
A healthy band ecosystem centers on a giving mindset—how can I give my time, expertise, connections, and spaces to be a resource for all band programs in my area? Yes, there are benefits of program visibility, recruiting potential music majors, and building concert audiences, Yet the primary motivation as a collegiate director must always be how to serve local music educators and their students. H. Rutledge Boykin, Assistant Director of Bands at Greenbrier High School, sums this up best:
A university can serve as the fertilizer for band programs, which provides nourishment to the product the band director is watering and nurturing every day. The university can provide insight and perspective beyond the four walls of the classroom teacher. Just as middle school band programs benefit from visits with high school band directors, all band programs can benefit from the input of local universities. We become music educators in the university classroom, but our personal education should not stop as we become the teachers of our own classroom.
While nurturing the band ecosystem can be time intensive, the investment is already paying dividends towards building momentum at Augusta University and local programs.