Jonathan Holmes made news earlier this summer when he was brought in as the new Adair County Band Director. Formerly the Glasgow High School’s band director, Holmes had previously served as the Adair County Assistant Band Director. Celebrations for his return to Adair were forced to largely be put on hold, however, as he was hired only days before band camp was set to begin.
In other words, he had to hit the ground running. If Adair County’s band was to remain competitive, it could not get a late start practicing. Time had never been more of the essence.
Which is why Adair County finishing second at the 2024 Governor’s Gold Cup Marching Band Festival was such good news: Holmes’ and his students’ hard work had paid off.
“(Competing) was great. It was great to see the kids and all their hard work get put to use. It gives them a tangible idea of why we’re pushing so hard and why we’re rehearsing as much as we do, so it was really rewarding to see all their hard work pay off,” Holmes said of the experience.
Held at Elizabethtown High School, the festival organized its competing marching bands into five classifications ranging from A to AAAAA (5A). The classification is made based on both the size of the school and the size of the band. Adair County was in the middle at AAA. Holmes described Adair’s place in the classification system as, “The way it’s set up, there are small bands in some of the bigger classes and some big bands in some of the smaller classes. We just happened to be one of the smaller groups that’s in the big class.”
The classification system is important because, not only did Adair place second overall at the festival, they came out at the top of the AAA bands.
In total, including the Indians, there were 17 bands competing in the Governor’s Gold Cup. At the end of the festival, unfortunately, Adair ultimately lost to North Hardin, a 5A-class marching band.
“I think (the students) were satisfied that while we didn’t win overall, they know there were a lot of really great groups there… we held our own,” Holmes said.
The band’s theme for the season is resonant with the experiences that it has had with new faculty like Mr. Holmes and the hard work they have put in to get to this point so quickly.
“Our show theme this year is called ‘Peaks,’ like mountain peaks, and so the general idea is overcoming obstacles and persevering through all the challenges and adversities you deal with through life. Everybody can relate to the show concept,” Holmes said. “Most of our music is classical in origin… our composer (former Adair County band director) Tim Allen kind of takes that music and rearranges it.”
While far from the first band competition he has participated in (or won), the Governor’s Gold Cup is the first band competition that Mr. Holmes has done since becoming the Adair County band director. It is a promising start to the 2024 band season, especially given the eleventh-hour hiring process that brough Holmes back to Adair.
Coming in so late, Holmes said, “did (pose challenges). The priority has always been the students first… There were some challenges with that but the good thing for me here is this is not my first time being involved with this band program… It’s very much a team, it’s a team that’s made it work… our administrators, our parents, and also our students, our community members have all pitched in. Everybody wants the band program to thrive.”
The next band competition for Adair County is going to be in Barren County on September 21.
By Kenley Godby
kenley@adairvoice.com
