Sorry to jump in this late, but Ive had some time to think. I was the Assistant Director of Bands when Jim was hired in 1976. He came over to our house for dinner, and we talked about the future of the USC band program. He asked me about my commitment to the band program, and I told him that I was all in. He said Good - I like working with people who are willing to put in 16 hour days.... As it turned out, thats exactly what he meant, and we did that six days a week. Jims dogged determination to make the Carolina Band program better was both inspiring and infuriating. I had never met anyone with such zeal and such uncompromising standards. He had a goal in mind for his band program that defied reason and logical expectations! He wanted to establish a Band Clinic in February to attract students. We cant do that, I responded, because our facilities wont allow it. What if we hired buses to transport students around campus, and have a truck to transport instruments, and have rehearsals at McMaster, the Student Union, and our band hall? We set out to schedule rehearsals and auditions and concerts to make it all work. I was exhausted just thinking about the logistical problems involved. It was not pretty, but the first annual USC Band Clinic happened because Jim refused to admit defeat! He sent me to northern VA to recruit. I didnt know anybody there, but they knew Jim, so we recruited some students from that area. Bob Vincent was one of those....We went to the Atlanta area to play concerts and recruit students. He did clinics all over the place, and the Carolina Band became recognized as one of the classiest college marching bands in the nation. The USC Summer Band Camp spawned the All-Southeast Wind Ensemble, which attracted even more attention to our music school, and attracted even more talented students to our University. I was probably the most unlikely associate possible for Jim in his early years. He was neat and organized. I was not, to say the least. In many ways, we were The Odd Couple in more ways than one. His office was always neat and organized. His desk always looked the same each morning, in spite of the early morning hours writing drill or scheduling rehearsals and performances or band trips. His pencils and pens, on the left side of his desk (since he was left handed) were always pointing in the same direction. Student assistants and staff delighted in turning just one pencil around while he was gone, just to find them all lined up after he returned. I think you will get a clear impression of Jim if you read all of the comments posted here. He was pretty demanding on all who worked with him, but it says a lot that we all loved and admired him, in spite of his uncompromising marriage to the USC School; of Music and the USC Band program. He made us all better.
Posted on: Tue, 02 Dec 2014 00:48:48 +0000
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