The RePublic High School “Howling Sound of the South” Marching Band just completed their last performance of the school year, opening CMA Fest (Country Music Association), but their break will be brief.¶
On July 6, the public charter school’s band will begin its first-ever band camp. RePublic’s band stands out from other high school marching bands because, in only their first year of existence, they have shown tremendous growth, from beginning instrumentalists to performing on the Riverfront Stage at CMA Fest alongside multi-platinum country star Russell Dickerson.¶
Humble Beginnings
Joshua Latham joined the school a year ago to create the school’s first marching band and serve as its director. He said the performance at CMA Fest was the culmination of hard work and support from many people.¶
“This time last year, I think I emailed close to 20 or 25 different people and just introduced myself, the school, and what we were trying to do,” Latham said.¶
Latham received two responses: one from Pinnacle Financial Partners and one from CMA. Both donated large lump sums, and CMA raised $50,000,which was used to purchase instruments for the new band.¶
“Pinnacle, they purchased all our brass instruments,” Latham said. “They were able to purchase our trumpets, they were able to purchase our trombones, and our baritones. We were still missing our flutes, our saxophones, our mellophones, (and) extra baritones, and CMA was able to step in, and they purchased seven flutes (and) seven clarinets.”¶
Learning The Basics
When the Howling Sound of the South held its first-ever rehearsal on Feb. 8, all but three of the band’s 30 members had never played their instrument. Latham had to start from the ground up, teaching them how to play scales, sight-read, and other fundamentals. The first three weeks of practice consisted almost entirely of learning to play Hot Cross Buns.¶
Then, some of the concepts began to look familiar. Latham introduced more challenging concepts. Eighth notes came. Then 16th notes. Then, more major scales with arpeggios, and more complex rhythms. The band rehearsed after school every day from 3 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.¶
Eventually, they began practicing marching band music. Latham said he had to make sure his lesson plans were as active and engaging as possible because of how quickly the students were being asked to learn.¶
More Than Just Music
Once he had established a musical rapport with his students, he made a point to engage with them beyond music. Any students who received an ‘F’ in a class would not be allowed to play with the band (none did). He encouraged them to sit in the front of their other classes and be on time, because they had to be on time for band practice too.¶
“I had to really get the students to understand we're going to learn music theory, we're going to learn basic eighth notes, chords, and all of that stuff, but really the biggest lesson you're learning is responsibility,” Latham said. “The biggest lesson you learn is discipline. The biggest lesson you learn is teamwork. And you can really see the drastic change (in) our students.”¶
A Famous Helping Hand
The band’s connection to Russell Dickerson began when CMA reached out to him, asking him to promote the band’s fundraiser. Dickerson played in his high school’s marching band and was sympathetic to RePublic’s efforts, and he posted a video that garnered thousands of views and led to many donations.¶
Dickerson then surprised the band by showing up at the school to watch them open their new instruments and even played a few songs with them.¶
“That right there kind of started a forever friendship,” Latham said. “He’s an unofficial band member.”¶
The band members knew they were going to play at CMA Fest, but it was Dickerson’s idea for him to introduce the Howling Sound of the South on stage to begin the festival’s first day of performances.¶
“He actually surprised the kids again while we were warming up,” Latham said. “He pulled up on us, and again, just said, ‘Hi, y’all,’ (and) wishing us luck on the kids' performance, because (there were) close to 800 people out there.”¶
Latham said his hope for the band’s future is to mold more students into successful adults after their schooling days are over. While the music may fade from their muscle memories, the lessons and stories will last.¶
“The biggest thing I can receive from a child isn't money, isn't anything materialistic, it's 10 years from now them texting me or calling me, saying, ‘Hey, Mr. Latham, that reminded me of a conversation we had.’” Latham said. “’I’m here now, I’m doing this, I accomplished this. Thank you for all those talks.’”¶
