{"id":1271,"date":"2012-09-27T15:15:38","date_gmt":"2012-09-27T15:15:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sites.jsums.edu\/jsuflash\/?p=1271"},"modified":"2012-09-27T15:15:38","modified_gmt":"2012-09-27T15:15:38","slug":"sonic-boom-of-the-south-smaller-size-bigger-power","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.jsums.edu\/theflash\/index.php\/2012\/09\/27\/sonic-boom-of-the-south-smaller-size-bigger-power\/","title":{"rendered":"Sonic Boom of the South: Smaller size, bigger power?"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
JSU band playing during game.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Tiffany Edmondson<\/strong>
\nBlue & White Flash \/Associate Editor<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Jackson State University marching band, \u201cThe Sonic Boom of the South\u201d, has a new leader on the field but he\u2019s not the new kid on the block.<\/p>\n

Dowell Taylor, the director for JSU\u2019s Music Technology program, was recently appointed to the position of Interim Band Director for the current academic year.<\/p>\n

Taylor, a 29 year veteran of the music department, is committed to the job until a band director is permanently hired for the position but he is aiming to get the band program back on track.
\nRevamping the band program isn\u2019t an easy task but Taylor is convinced that he can do it because of his past band directing experiences and accomplishments. His resume includes being a JSU graduate, band director at Mary Holmes Jr. College and at Kentucky State University.<\/p>\n

After Taylor left KSU, he returned to JSU to become the band director and eventually would start the Music Technology Program.<\/p>\n

One of Taylor\u2019s main visions is to create a sense of unity among present and alumni band members.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere seems to be a division between the different era\u2019s of the \u201cSonic Boom\u201d participants. This is painful for me to endure or observe but we are going to install the principle of \u201cone boom\u201d united forever. It\u2019s kind of tough but we are making progress,\u201d said Taylor.<\/p>\n

Very little has been changed regarding the band but Taylor has his own philosophical difference and approach.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy philosophical difference is quality before quantity with a profound commitment to good marching, good playing, and the execution of field maneuvers,\u201d said Taylor.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
JSU band member playing during game.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

During previous games, many fans in the stadium commented on how small the band appeared on the field during the halftime show.\u00a0 The rumor on campus was that some of the band members were cut but Taylor quickly dispelled that rumor.
\n\u201cWhen I was first offered the position, I didn\u2019t know anyone. In order to understand who and what I was working with in the band, I had to audition them to know their playing ability, not to get rid of them,\u201d said Taylor.<\/p>\n

However, this year, the band is smaller in size because of the transition from one band director to another and the fact that minimum recruitment was done during those transitions.
\nCurrently, there are 145-150 band members whom Taylor refers to as a dynamic group of strong dedicated players. Next year Taylor says that the band will be bigger and better because all of the assistant band directors will start recruiting the best students across the nation and offer them auditions and scholarships on the spot based on need.<\/p>\n

Taylor also stated that even though the bands scholarship budget needs to be enhanced to compete with other band programs, the \u201cSonic Boom\u201d will continue to march forward with anticipation of stabilizing the band program.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe band today is the same size of the band that was under my direction that went to Motown and the NAACP Image Awards. The band will continue to be as funky as ever,\u201d said Taylor.
\nWhether it\u2019s increasing band scholarships or recruiting more players, Taylor\u2019s main goal is to make sure that JSU has a dynamic band program.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Tiffany Edmondson Blue & White Flash \/Associate Editor The Jackson State University marching band, \u201cThe Sonic Boom of the South\u201d, has a new leader on the field but he\u2019s not the new kid on the block. Dowell Taylor, the director for JSU\u2019s Music Technology program, was recently appointed to the position of Interim Band Director […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-1271","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-variety"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.jsums.edu\/theflash\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1271","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.jsums.edu\/theflash\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.jsums.edu\/theflash\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.jsums.edu\/theflash\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.jsums.edu\/theflash\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1271"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sites.jsums.edu\/theflash\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1271\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.jsums.edu\/theflash\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1271"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.jsums.edu\/theflash\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1271"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.jsums.edu\/theflash\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1271"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}