Facing the music: How fine arts has influenced kids raised in small towns

Adam France played the tuba for the Gallatin Pride Band and sang with the high school choir until he graduated in 2015.

Growing up in a small town can be rough on ambitious kids. Sometimes there aren’t enough extracurriculars offered in the area and certain learning opportunities just aren’t easily accessible, which can make it tough for teens to take steps towards their life goals. For many students, though, growing up in a small town with a solid music program made all the difference and taught them skills that have become vital to living their everyday lives.

For Gallatin graduate Adam France, the music programs presented social challenges for him to overcome, challenges he continues to overcome as he studies to become a history teacher. France expressed that performing for band and choir events as a teenager helped draw him out of his shell and learn to interact with others.

“Throughout the years we would have band fund-raisers that would involve speaking to many different people, and helped me to get out of my shell,” France said. “Also, it has helped me to be less scared in the situations when I need to perform, whether that is karaoke night with my friends or standing in front of my coworkers in a work meeting.”

But, of course, the fine arts gave him more than just the power to overcome shyness. France stated that participating in band and choir helped him learn how to tackle and conquer tricky obstacles, as it surely has for many fine arts students.

“It helps with learning time management skills,” France said. “It teaches you how to practice at something that you want to improve, and it gives kids a chance to express themselves, and teaches them to keep with something even when it can be challenging.”

Rebecca Daul, second left, transitioned from playing with the band to marching with the color guard alongside the band. During this time, she also exercised her vocal musicality in the Penney High choir.

Perseverance is the same skill Rebecca Daul, a Penney high school graduate from 2014, learned while she participated in the fine arts programs. Daul also participated in several sports and other extracurriculars offered at Penney, which aided in solidifying her dedication to everything she sets out to do.

“In the fine arts, you can’t just give up if you don’t ‘get’ something,” Daul explained. “No one else can sub in for you since it takes every member of the team to win. […] Being in the fine arts requires a tremendous amount of teamwork and doing extra work outside of practice. Some people might think, ‘huh, that sounds a lot like sports.’ Well, that’s because it is. You don’t make varsity by skipping the weight room all summer, same as you don’t win district music contests without using every bit of free time to practice. […] Engaging in the fine arts builds up a certain kind of perseverance, the kind that sees the performance through to the end regardless of inconveniences and lack of support. It’s a trait of success, one that can benefit the student for life if crafted properly.”

Daul continues to persevere as an occupational therapy student. She has a Bachelor’s in Exercise Science with plans to get her doctorate in the future.

But partaking in fine arts programs may not have the same lasting effect on small-town students as it used to, especially with the recent state of the world. The new challenge is presenting students the same opportunities as prior students have had while maintaining social distancing amid this pandemic.

Take Gallatin Band Director Jack Malo, for example. Once upon a time when Malo attended Gallatin High, being in band meant something completely different than it does in this current pandemic. With COVID-19 preventing social gatherings, the band students have been forced to submit audition tapes online. This method does partially omit the stage fright, but it also removes learning the vital skill of performance under pressure, which is something adults in most positions can relate to.

“Being in band is getting to a school for an audition and waiting nervously for hours while they post the results on the big screen,” Malo said as he recalled his experiences with the fine arts. “Being in band is after months of rehearsals, getting in front of a judge and performing your absolute best and showcase how much work you’ve put in and how amazing you are, but then getting pizza afterwards. Being in band is making music and friends with the other band nerds that you’re always excited to see at the next event.”

Those experiences are similar to how one might handle a job interview or a life-altering audition. The skills learned while powering through these events could drastically change the outlook of someone’s future career. And as a band director, Malo subconsciously teaches this to his students even though they don’t get to experience the events in the same fashion. When asked about their practices, Malo had this to say:

“The one thing that is the same as any other year is the music making. The process of looking at a piece for the first time, and there might be a few (or more) interesting sounds. Then after a week, it sounds better, and that continues until it starts to sound like real music, until one day, the music comes alive. That process to me is what makes band so special; constant refinement of the same work for a large amount of time, knowing that perfection is never obtainable, but excellence is. My students have never stopped doing this and I know they’ll continue to do it.”

Jack Malo, front center, was so affected by his experiences in the fine arts as a kid that he decided to get a degree in education. Malo is now the Gallatin Pride band director.

So, for the previous students who put every ounce of their being into their musical practices, the “grown up” skills became more of a second nature. These programs, specifically the ones offered in Daviess County schools, can make people more proficient and devoted in their futures. Sometimes it just takes facing the music to realize how much one particular experience can influence someone for life.