Sports
November 2011
Lawrence and the evolution of
sound
Clarke Central High School band director Robert Lawrence joined the fine arts department in August 2009. Since then, he has taken steps to reshape the band program.
W
STORY BY MOLLIE SHERMAN
PHOTOS BY CARLO NASISSE
Senior Copy Editor
Photography Editor
hen former Clarke Central High School band director Blake Gaines resigned from his position in spring 2009, the program’s future was uncertain. The high-energy, crowd-pleasing marching band under Gaines’ direction featured 77 high school participants in the official 2009 CCHS Gladius Yearbook. Gaines’ resignation sentenced these students to an offseason until CCHS principal Dr. Robbie P. Hooker found a new director. CCHS fine arts department chair Anthony Rucker was a member of Hooker’s hiring committee during the job search. “(The committee was) looking for an experienced band director. We could not have a band director without a number of years of experience,” Rucker said. “We also needed a band director who relates well with kids.” Meanwhile, recent American Conservatory of Music graduate and current CCHS band director, Robert Lawrence, had made his way to Athens, Ga. after a five-year tenure, first as the Assistant Band Director and later as the Coordinator of the Music Department, at South Carolina State University in Orangeburg, S.C. “I wasn’t feeling South Carolina anymore,” Lawrence said. “It wasn’t me. A friend told me about a job opening (at CCHS) and so I sent in an inquiry.” While sifting through multiple applications, Hooker was impressed both with Lawrence’s vast number of experiences and his notable accomplishments.
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