Weber Announces Changes to Music--Arts  for 2019-20

We interviewed Mr. Weber to discuss changes in the music and fine arts program at St. Michael for 2019-2020.

Q. So to set context for the changes next year, how do you see things currently? 

A. First, I believe the arts are critically important to a well-rounded education, which is why we have a two year Arts requirement here. I hired Mr. Pryor as our first ever band director when the school opened in 2016. Though his primary expertise is band, with just 99 students that year, I also asked him to lead our choral program. He’s done an amazing job with both—our band program has won two straight superior ratings at the state festival ( and practicing for a third!-- see above) and our choral program last year also earned a superior rating. 

Q.  But we’re no longer 99 students!

A. That’s right. We’re at 290 now and expect 30 or 40 more next year. We have 5 full choral classes, a band class and we also teach band at Christ the King, St. Patrick and St. Benedict, each place, twice a week. I’m proud of our musicians—the arts are strong here!—but our explosive growth has stretched us. Last year, to assist Mr. Pryor, we hired a wonderful young woman, Rachel Rayburn, as an assistant band director, and she’s helped tremendously, especially with the elementary schools.  But Mr. Pryor still has charge over all of it. To put numbers to that, we have approximately  75 kids in middle school bands, 150 kids in our high school chorus and just over 80 in our high school band. At the high school, on Mondays, Mr. Pryor teaches 230 students. 

Q.  Is that number problematic? 

A. Mr. Pryor is highly competent, but to put it in perspective, most of our teachers teach 120-ish students at a time. And it’s important to note that although band and chorus classes are both “music,” they’re very different disciplines. Just the logistics alone of tracking sheet music for both programs, with kids at very different levels musically, is hugely time consuming. And I think having just one person ultimately in charge of both programs limits some other things we’d like to do going forward. Plus, as our band and choral programs improve, they’re being asked to do more, such as marching in the Mardi Gras parade a few weeks ago. 

Q.  So what’s the plan? 

A.  Rachel Rayburn is leaving us to go to graduate school in the fall. Mr. Pryor and I have talked about the best step forward.  We've decided to hire a choral director to handle all facets of our choral program. This will allow Mr. Pryor to focus exclusively on band: he’ll teach band in the morning at the elementary schools, then come back and teach a beginning band for one period here, and concert band the next period. Meanwhile, the choral classes will occur all morning. I’m excited about what this will allow us to do on both sides of the equation!

Q. Like what? 

A. Well, let’s see! The cool thing about building a new school is when you hire new people, you want be open to the talents and vision of the staff you hire. But Mr. Pryor and I have talked about the opportunity to have our band become more active at football and basketball games, or prepare for special events, like Mardi Gras parades, or to have our choral singers more involved with public performances. We like the possibilities this opens up for us! 

Q. Let’s move away from music and focus on the Art program. Any changes there? 

A. Yes. Mrs. Scimeca began the art program with three classes, and we're really proud of the work our students are doing. We're expanding it to five classes next year. We have both Art I and Art II electives, and some of our upperclassmen are developing very nice portfolios. (Check out this art, hanging in our hallways!)  Later this spring, we’ll be featuring some of our senior artists in an exhibition of their work. I invite people to come and see! 

Q. How do students get into Art classes? 

A. Students may opt for Art I as the second year of their two year fine arts requirement, so if they don’t want to continue in Band or Chorus, they can choose Art I in their sophomore year. Once they’ve completed the Art I course, they’ll need to get teacher’s approval for Art II, as the emphasis will be on kids who have a real talent or flair for it. It’s going to be fun to see how far they go!  This is Fairhope, after all—the arts are important here! 

Q. Are there plans for the Fine Arts program beyond the near future? 

A. There’s real interest in drama, and I hope to begin a program in the not-too-distant future. We’ll need a place to host it—initially the stage in the gym but down the road, I hope, a performance hall, which could support both our music and drama programs. We’re having an athletic campaign kick-off event on April 1—that may seem unrelated to the Arts at first, but everything is connected: for example, the first thing we’ll build is a field house and weight room that moves our temporary weight-room off the stage, freeing up space. God has blessed us with extraordinarily generous people, and I think if we continue to thrive, we’ll see new opportunities open up for us. As the proverb says, we’ll “work as if it all depends on us, but trust that it all depends on God.”