[CTcard]

I'm not really familiar w/ the structure of oversight of the Band in recent years.  I presume it has departed quite substantially from the "old" days when Arthur P. Barnes had that responsibility.  Without consideration of the difficulty of finding someone who could measure up to Maestro Barnes, is that not a structure to which we might return?  Granted, if whoever assumed that oversight role was a bureaucratic potato head, it wouldn't improve the situation.  But perhaps the basis of a potential compromise would be if the two sides of the discussion could agree upon a person to fill that position.

I haven't really chimed in on the band threads so far because I have been trying to figure out what I think. But, this seems like a place I can contribute and start working through my own thoughts.

I am a former band member, from the mid-80s. Like all of us, I know best what was going on while I was there and some years on either side. I don't have a clear understanding as to what has been happening lately and don't know what were these mysterious violations in 2011-12 that seem to be the root of the current blow-up.

Arthur P. Barnes was a remarkable guy in a very laid-back, let-it-be kind of way. Dr. Barnes was the Director of the LSJUMB, but he didn't "run" the band. It was a student run organization, and the students developed the shows, cared for instruments and uniforms, scheduled appearances, managed travel, handled auditions, managed at least most of the funding, etc. Dr. Barnes would do some conducting and some musical arranging, would teach drum majors to conduct, and would mentor several students in arranging music. He'd also run interference with administrators when necessary, which was pretty often.

Now, in the letter to the band, Greg Boardman claims he wants to go back to that model, apparently not actually knowing what that model was,

During Winter Quarter, I will charge a committee, jointly convened by Student Affairs and Athletics, to develop a reconstituted Band governance model to replace the current student-managed structure. In particular, the reconstituted governance model will include a professional Music Director with significant control over Band membership and operations.  A model of this sort was in place for more than 30 years, without stifling the Band’s unique character, under the direction of Art Barnes. Our goal will be to recreate a model in which there is collaborative leadership between the Music Director and Band membership, but importantly, in which the Music Director retains final control. 

I can't quite figure out how much that passage heartens me or appalls me.

On the one hand, I do think that was a fairly good mode of operation for the band. There was just enough adult supervision to keep things from getting completely out of control and little enough supervision that the band could develop as they would and do things that official employees cannot quite countenance. If they could really find an Arthur P. Barnes II, I think that would be great.

On the other hand, this doesn't really read to me as if Mr. Boardman actually has any interest in an Arthur P. Barnes II. It seems more a flimsy cover story for wanting something very different, for wanting control. I also wonder who they could hire. Being the Director of the LSJUMB does not seem like a full time job. For Dr. Barnes, it was something he did on the side of his real job as a Professor in the Music Department. My guess is that any current professors would run screaming away from this task. If they do hire somebody full time, somebody will have to figure out what to do with all that time - which generically seems to be the source of an awful lot of administrative overreach.

Finally, I wonder what happened to the last director. Back around 2000 or so the band raised a bunch of money to endow a Director of Bands position. Somebody was in the position at least for awhile. Does anybody here know what happened to him, or what happened to this endowment money?

[CTcard]

I'm not really familiar w/ the structure of oversight of the Band in recent years.  I presume it has departed quite substantially from the "old" days when Arthur P. Barnes had that responsibility.  Without consideration of the difficulty of finding someone who could measure up to Maestro Barnes, is that not a structure to which we might return?  Granted, if whoever assumed that oversight role was a bureaucratic potato head, it wouldn't improve the situation.  But perhaps the basis of a potential compromise would be if the two sides of the discussion could agree upon a person to fill that position.

I haven't really chimed in on the band threads so far because I have been trying to figure out what I think. But, this seems like a place I can contribute and start working through my own thoughts.

I am a former band member, from the mid-80s. Like all of us, I know best what was going on while I was there and some years on either side. I don't have a clear understanding as to what has been happening lately and don't know what were these mysterious violations in 2011-12 that seem to be the root of the current blow-up.

Arthur P. Barnes was a remarkable guy in a very laid-back, let-it-be kind of way. Dr. Barnes was the Director of the LSJUMB, but he didn't "run" the band. It was a student run organization, and the students developed the shows, cared for instruments and uniforms, scheduled appearances, managed travel, handled auditions, managed at least most of the funding, etc. Dr. Barnes would do some conducting and some musical arranging, would teach drum majors to conduct, and would mentor several students in arranging music. He'd also run interference with administrators when necessary, which was pretty often.

Now, in the letter to the band, Greg Boardman claims he wants to go back to that model, apparently not actually knowing what that model was,

During Winter Quarter, I will charge a committee, jointly convened by Student Affairs and Athletics, to develop a reconstituted Band governance model to replace the current student-managed structure. In particular, the reconstituted governance model will include a professional Music Director with significant control over Band membership and operations.  A model of this sort was in place for more than 30 years, without stifling the Band’s unique character, under the direction of Art Barnes. Our goal will be to recreate a model in which there is collaborative leadership between the Music Director and Band membership, but importantly, in which the Music Director retains final control. 

I can't quite figure out how much that passage heartens me or appalls me.

On the one hand, I do think that was a fairly good mode of operation for the band. There was just enough adult supervision to keep things from getting completely out of control and little enough supervision that the band could develop as they would and do things that official employees cannot quite countenance. If they could really find an Arthur P. Barnes II, I think that would be great.

On the other hand, this doesn't really read to me as if Mr. Boardman actually has any interest in an Arthur P. Barnes II. It seems more a flimsy cover story for wanting something very different, for wanting control. I also wonder who they could hire. Being the Director of the LSJUMB does not seem like a full time job. For Dr. Barnes, it was something he did on the side of his real job as a Professor in the Music Department. My guess is that any current professors would run screaming away from this task. If they do hire somebody full time, somebody will have to figure out what to do with all that time - which generically seems to be the source of an awful lot of administrative overreach.

Finally, I wonder what happened to the last director. Back around 2000 or so the band raised a bunch of money to endow a Director of Bands position. Somebody was in the position at least for awhile. Does anybody here know what happened to him, or what happened to this endowment money?