Band teacher Jordan Harris doesn’t skip a beat when describing the music program at George McDougall High School.
“We’re ‘band nerds,’” he says.
“At the beginning of each year, I make that designation. The name is an honour, not a stigma.”
Indeed, the so-called “band nerds” are as diverse as any group of high school students.
“We’re not just the musical kids,” Harris says. “We’re the football players, the volleyball people, the math people. Every walk of life goes into that band room.
“It doesn’t matter what you are on the outside of those walls, when you walk in, you’re a part of this team, and something phenomenal can happen.”
Last school year, Harris taught 40 Grade 9 students, 115 seniors, 70 jazz band, 20 Midnight Mustangs jazz, a sax quartet, and duets and rock groups. Guiding different age and skill levels to a harmonious sound has been his mission for 18 years.
“It’s like putting a jigsaw puzzle together where all the pieces are the same colour,” says Harris. “You don’t know how it’ll all fit, but you take it one piece at a time.”
Sometimes it doesn’t go the way they’ve practised.
“You put on a concert for a hundred Grade 2s and they’re dancing and screaming, but the student on the triangle is struggling to stay on beat,” Harris says.
A flawless performance is not the goal, he says: “At the end of the concert, it’s not about what you didn’t do right, but about the experience you gave these kids. That’s something to be proud of.”
While every band student has the opportunity to learn various instruments, some are more popular than others.
“There’s always that group who want to play the drums,” Harris says. “I don’t ever say, ‘No, you can’t play this or that instrument,’ but we talk, and, if they’re serious about playing and putting in the work, they’ll find where they fit. You can only have so many drummers.”
When a student excels on a certain instrument, Harris will feature them as a soloist or encourage them to join one of the smaller, more-advanced bands.
“It’s always rewarding to see a student take their game to the next level with a group who have the same kind of passion,” he says.
The George Mac band program, Harris explains, is more than just music; it’s also about community.
“As much as I love what we build up with the music, it’s absolutely 100-per cent those moments in time where you’re allowing these kids to experience new things and shine and just enjoy,” he says.
