Despite being displaced from their former music room, the increasingly resourceful music students and teachers at Elizabethton High School have adapted to practicing in new locations.
“Every band student in the world has to be able to take what their handed and be able to move with it,” said Band Director Perry Elliot. “They have to be nimble. My students look at everything we do as an adventure, and we haven’t had any problems at all with it.”
And they’re not the only ones. Five teachers have been teaching on a classroom rotation for years with no home rooms. The new facility will give music students an improved space to practice, and it has opened up the old room for conversion into four classrooms for the rotating teachers as well as a separate practice area for chorus.
Principal David Wright said one will still not have a room, but that this teacher benefits from rotating because of the need for computers.
In the meantime, music students have been practicing in different spaces like the gym, commons area and auxiliary gym. They have been storing equipment in the auxiliary gym and setting up their chairs and instruments for class daily.
“We’re just being creative at this point,” said Assistant Director of Schools Richard VanHuss.
Elliot said it is in the operating procedure for them to be able to do something out of the norm, and that practicing in the gym has only helped make them more prepared, as well as giving them more space to spread out.
“In the band world, it is always about getting outside your comfort zone,” said Elliot. “When we go to a ball game or parade, there are always last minute changes so we’re used to having to be able to move with it at a moment’s notice.”
He said they look forward to the practicing in the new facility.
“The new room will be fantastic, and we look forward to practicing with the acoustical treatment in there,” said Perry.
VanHuss said the project is scheduled to be finished by the end of February or beginning of March at a cost of approximately $1.6 million.
“Special projects like this don’t come around often,” said Wright. “We’re very excited to be able to offer this to our students.”
Construction is going according to plan and is now about 60 percent complete. VanHuss said they wanted to get the building “in the dry” with a roof and walls before cold weather hit, which they have accomplished.
“That’s a huge hurdle to get past for the winter months,” said VanHuss.
The facility will provide office space for Perry and Choral Director Debbie Gouge, as well as a spacious band room with a window into the choral room.
Another facet of the project is walling off a mini gym in which chorus is practicing, leaving separate access to the concession stand. When they move into the new facility, the mini gym will be used for wrestling.
“It does cause a bit of aggravation, but it will worth it,” said Wright. “It is going as smooth as possible.”