John Dickinson High School is serious about rebuilding itself and improving its enrollment numbers under new principal Byron Murphy.
One of the first priorities Murphy had was to hire a new band director and rebuild the marching band, which last year was plagued by instability under two different leaders.
He found the right man in Matt Pagel, who came to Dickinson with significant credentials. Pagel is a 2006 graduate of Michigan State University who spent five years on the Spartan marching band – the required time for Michigan State’s music program. Prior, he was on the 220-member marching band at Lakeshore (Mich.) High School.
“These programs are absolutely critical for kids,” Murphy said. “If you take care of the programs that are critical for kids, then those programs start to go in the right direction and some kids start to say, ‘You know what? I’m going to go to Dickinson.’ Then, all the balls start rolling in the right direction.”
Pagel began his career at Dickinson with seven band members August 26. Friday night he had 25 members. There is no drum major because he needs everyone to play. There is no field show either. But he promises those things will come next year.
The marching band made its debut Friday night during the school's second football game of the season against St. Elizabeth. The sight brought immediate applause from the Dickinson High community, who sorely missed them during the opener against Smyrna.
And the band passed its first test as it processed into Dickinson Stadium and the drum line’s cadences were tight. It got members of the crowd and football team moving, which is what it’s supposed to do.
“That’s our first impression that we make, so it needs to be good,” Pagel said. “It’s the arrival point, the battle cry.”
During the first half, the band played neat renditions of the “Star Spangled Banner,” “Tequila,” “The Hey Song,” “Go Fight, Win,” “The Peter Gunn Theme” and “Let’s Go Blue” –made famous by the rival university of Pagel’s alma mater, the University of Michigan.
“Overall, everyone is solid,” Pagel said. “In an effort to make the program larger, we’ve taken a few students into the program that have never participated in band before. So, it’s kind of trial by fire for them and we’re teaching them as we go, trying to keep their heads above water.
“As a group, I’m very pleased,” he said.
After he sent out a survey to see what students had band experience, the band grew by 100 percent based on that effort, Pagel said. The band grew another 100 percent because the principal grabbed any student willing to participate and scheduled them for the marching band class.
Senior flutist Diana Villarreal of Pike Creek said it’s good to have stability under Pagel and everyone appreciates the support Murphy has provided.
“It’s good to have support from because it felt like we were fading off,” Villarreal said. “For someone to actually care and want to make sure that there’s something still going on after I leave is really important.”
The halftime show entertained the audience: during it, one member shouted “We love you guys.”
Dickinson junior Genesia Mattia of Milltown is a clarinet player who has participated in school band since she was at Forest Oak Elementary and Skyline Middle schools. While it was fun to have alumni help the band out last year, she is glad to see numbers build up again from the current student body.
“We have more people willing to try it,” she said. “They’re willing to try anything. It’s all about learning at this critical point.”
Drum line member Jaron Lolley of Wilmington said that when he entered Dickinson last year, he was shocked to see such a small band, but he's optimistic for the future.
“We wanted to make sure that people would say, 'I want to be a part of that band'."
Dequwaun Barriento of Wilmington never was in band before. But he has played the alto saxophone for six years and was one of the students identified by Pagel and Murphy as an ideal candidate.
"It feels great to know that somebody actually cares about us and wants us to have a better education,” he said.
