AT THE TOP OF THEIR GAME: NICEVILLE, FLORIDA

Shown above: Niceville at the Tournament of Roses Parade

For Jeff Adams things in Niceville aren’t just nice, they’re phenomenal! In fact, for a small town in the Florida panhandle, Niceville, FL has some pretty big ambitions. Jeff Adams, Associate Band Director at Niceville High School tells us the lay of the land. “We have five high schools in our District, four rather large and one smaller junior/senior high. The bands are purported to be some of the best bands in the state. Each school has a marching band and various numbers of concert bands. For example, Niceville High School has four concert bands and three jazz bands.” Jeff continues, “Our school and most of the other district schools also have AP music theory offerings and various choral offerings.”

But what’s most remarkable about Niceville’s music program isn’t the size and quantity of the performance ensembles – although that’s pretty impressive! It’s their ability to identify a goal and find a way to do whatever it takes to get there. That can-do spirit landed Niceville a spot in the Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena, CA in 2007. It’s an experience that Jeff and hundreds of students and community members will never forget.

As Jeff reveals, “In order to be considered, you have to go through a pretty rigorous application and audition process. You have to put together a portfolio that includes program information – what the bands have played and what honors they’ve earned. You also include video of the band in action, so they can see how they look and sound and what the uniforms look like. Most importantly you have to have letters of recommendation written by prominent people who have been involved in those activities or from college band directors who have seen the band or nationally recognized judges who have judged the band. You have the commit to the fundraising aspect and demonstrate fundraising capabilities in the past, because they don’t want to select a band that’s not going to have the ability to put the trip together. It is a huge undertaking.”

The skill and organization required to participate in something as visible as the Tournament of Roses Parade can’t be developed overnight. Years of dedication and coordination are what allow a program even to be considered for such an honor. Niceville has the credentials and more. Jeff reports, “Our band had done the Fiesta Bowl Parade in Arizona three or four years before. That was a preliminary run of a major trip to have the band travel and do something on that level of involvement. And the spring before the top concert band had been invited to the National Adjudicators Invitational in Chattanooga, TN.”

While the dedication and hard work of the Niceville music staff is essential to pulling off such a project, the importance of parental involvement cannot be underestimated. “We have a huge band parents organization,” says Jeff. “They were primarily responsible for the student account fundraisers that provided the students opportunities to raise the money for our trip. Football is huge here, so we have a profitable concession operation at our games, which include the 9th grade and junior varsity games in addition to the varsity games. We also run 30 or 40 chaperones when we go to an event. When we just travel to an away ball game we take eight school buses and two equipment trucks!”

Jeff’s delight at the size of and participation in the program might stem from the fact that he himself grew up right here in Niceville. “I graduated from high school here in 1974. I’m back at my alma mater. The band had only 90 kids in it when I was here and now we have 270! I also get to work with guys that I’ve known for thirty plus years. I went to college with the head Director, Dan Wooten and the other assistant, Barry Mullins, gave me my first conducting lesson when I was in high school. It’s pretty exciting to be part of something that’s a part of my past,” he smiles.

As you can imagine, getting 270 band students and their instruments from Florida to Pasadena, California is a feat unto itself. Luckily there were some logistical elements in their favor. “This is a huge military community,” Jeff explains. “The U.S. Air force test wing is here at Eglin Air force Base, and they have huge runway access. In spite of the fact that we’re in a relatively small town, we chartered a 747 and took over 100 family and community members with us, plus our chaperones and staff. I think we filled up all but 30 seats or so on a 747!”

But their participation in the Tournament of Roses Parade isn’t the end of the story for Niceville. It’s just a stop on their continued journey of excellence. “Last spring after the Rose parade the wind ensemble went to the CBDNA (College Band Directors National Association) Conference in Columbus, GA and performed there. You know, one of the reasons that I really like it here. Is that it’s such a well-rounded program. The marching bands are good. The concert bands are good. The jazz band is good,” Jeff remarks.

As the Associate Band Director, Jeff has a variety of every day responsibilities, which include directing one of the concert bands and one of the jazz bands. Sibelius notation software is a tool that he finds essential in getting his job done. “I’ve done six arrangements this fall for the marching bands using Sibelius,” he tells us. “I just finished worksheets this week for projects that I’m doing in class. I use Sibelius constantly. The ease of use is great. It’s intuitive enough that I could just figure things out. I never even read the manual until I started working on parts for strings or vocals, and I had to learn new features I hadn’t used before.”

Jeff had found Sibelius products useful at his previous position as well, as he explains, “In my former life I was at Pryor Middle School in Ft. Walton Beach, FL for 23 years. We had a full lab set up and the students used Sibelius for all the written assignments. They would also do their theory and ear training in Auralia and Musition.” Jeff also has the honor of being called upon by Sibelius as a Sibelius Ambassador. “Basically I do demonstrations and training when called upon. I’ve done clinic sessions at various conferences and in-service type gatherings where I do an hour presentation on some feature of the product or topic. Or I might do a series of training sessions for a school district or attend a trade shows,” he says.

It’s a good thing that Jeff is a whiz at creating great looking and easy to use notation. The Niceville High School marching band alone has 36 pieces that they learn and play during football season! “We have 26 stands tunes and 10 school songs – ones we do every year,” Jeff says with pride. “Nobody around here does that – colleges do, but most high schools don’t. That just speaks to the level that the kids play and are willing to work at. They just really like doing it.” Who knows where Niceville may appear next, but you can be sure that wherever it is they will be polished and playing to perfection!

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