Kevin Morrison, the Director of Bands at Lambert High School in Suwanee, Georgia, goes above and beyond to educate the community — especially potential band parents — about the school’s band program. “We use a variety of tools since most of our families did not grow up with the traditional American structure of band programs,” he says.
Morrison and the rest of the director team send out many invitations through various platforms and hold information nights. Most importantly, they let families know the positive impact of making music at a high level has on their children. “We spend a lot of time and energy teaching our students the soft skills that will help them be successful once they leave our band room,” he explains. “We teach them how to manage themselves, care for each other, how and when to lead and when to follow.”
By playing music together, students have the opportunity to learn and practice these life skills, including how to be successful as an individual and as a team. Morrison adds, “Once the parents see the growth in their children, it snowballs from there!”
And snowball it has! Lambert’s band program enrollment has grown by nearly 40% since Morrison came on board. Some of the boost in numbers came from the middle school bands recovering from the COVID shutdown, but Morrison attributes most of the growth to retention. “Students who come into the program stay in the program,” he says proudly. “We prioritize music playing and growth throughout each concert cycle, class period and rep so that students feel successful. The staff spends time developing relationships with students, which allows us to coach them in meaningful ways.”
Morrison has incorporated diversity into the program by linking music selections to his students’ cultural and ethnic backgrounds. He recognizes that his role is to provide guidance as students navigates their musical experience “because ultimately, it is their experience,” he says. That’s why he involves students in selecting repertoire for concerts and performances.
For Lambert’s performance at the 77th Midwest Clinic, Morrison wanted to commission a piece that was authentic and relevant to the student population. He connected with Minoo Dixon, an American-Korean composer who wrote a piece that incorporated traditional Korean folk tunes and percussion! “We try to make sure that while we are exposing students to standard literature, we are also regularly programming underrepresented communities in each concert,” Morrison explains. “Programming like this gives us an avenue to talk about the importance of these communities, their impact on the world and the arts, and to make our students from diverse backgrounds feel like they belong in the world of music-making.”
One of Morrison’s favorite teaching moment was a recording session in May 2024. The only day that the recording engineer and studio were available was the day after graduation. “Every single senior showed up, had a great attitude and gave their best for a lengthy recording session that we planned to submit for festivals that they wouldn’t even get to play at,” he fondly recalls. “They did it because they loved playing together, they loved each other, and they loved the program.”
