JOYFUL NOISE

The renaissance of Woodrow Wilson’s band program

By WILL MADDOX

It was a Friday night in 2011 when Woodrow Wilson High School faced Highland Park High School in a playoff football game. When halftime rolled around and the players left the field, anyone watching could see a chasm between the two schools.

As Woodrow’s band took the field, less than 20 musicians lined up in formation. They stumbled around and made some noise, but the band did not do the historic East Dallas high school justice.

Chris Evetts, in his second year as an assistant band director at Highland Park High, winced as he watched the Woodrow band meander about the field, while silently making a promise to himself: “I am going to be working there next year.”

Evetts did not always dream of being a band director. He majored in radio, TV and film at the University of Texas, and worked on the children’s show “Barney” as a handler, escorting the friendly purple dinosaur on tours across the country.

He also landed a job with the Glen Miller Orchestra playing saxophone and clarinet, and traveled the world with the famous group. After getting his master’s degree in Liverpool, England, he returned to the states and realized he didn’t have a job.

His musical background led him to accept the position as band director in his hometown at Clarksville High School in East Texas. He later moved to the Dallas area, where he worked in Frisco, Lake Highlands and Highland Park.

Along the way, he found his calling.

After the fateful playoff football game, he would joke with his colleagues about moving from the gilded hallways of the Park Cities to East Dallas. “I looked at Woodrow and saw some kids that I could help,” he says.

He called about an opening at J.L. Long Middle School in 2012 and learned that the Woodrow band director was leaving that year as well. He lucked into learning about the job before it was even posted. During his interview, he told principal Kyle Richardson, “There is no reason why we can’t be the top perform-