Fayette’s newest band director has been busy so far this summer. Jennifer Rubin has already hosted freshman boot camp and summer band camp with a strong focus on continuing the band’s culture of excellence.

Fayette announced Rubin as its newest band director in May when former director, Alex Kirby, broke the news that he was moving on after three years at the helm.

Rubin comes to Fayette from her native Kansas City where since 2017 she was Director of Bands at Winnetonka High School. She earned her Bachelor’s Degree in 2011 from the University of Central Missouri in Warrensburg before taking her first teaching job at nearby Brookfield from 2011 to 2015. There she was band director for grades 5-12.

In 2015 Rubin left Brookfield to pursue a master’s degree. Two years later she earned an M.A. in music with an emphasis in wind band conducting from Truman State University.

Rubin chose to move back to a small town because she was looking for that same feeling of community she experienced while in Brookfield. “I wanted to go where I would feel a part of the community. Kansas City was just so big. There's just something about Fayette. And also CMU here is a huge benefit. Just being in this town feels like you already know people.”

She said Fayette has been very warm and welcoming so far. And Rubin said she is looking forward to teaching music to a wide age group. Like Brookfield, band in Fayette begins in fifth grade. “I love getting to start the kids and be with them the whole time, seeing their progress, and be able to help them and stay with them,” Rubin said. “Same with the families. You get to know the families very well, especially when they have multiple kids going through the program.”

In normal times students entering fifth grade would have already chosen their instruments and begun learning the basics. But with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the music program is yet another area experiencing significant change. Rubin said fifth-graders will have their recruitment night in the fall when school begins.

It’s not just the small town that attracted Rubin to Fayette, it’s the long tradition of excellence, which is on full display throughout trophy cases outside of the band room. “I was aware of that tradition and that’s part of what drew me here,” she said. ‘I’ve seen Fayette perform at various competitions and I was very impressed.”

Rubin said she is excited to lead the band that Skip Vandelicht taught for more than three decades. “He’s a name in the band world. I feel honored to be able to follow him,” she said.

Vandelicht is now Director of Bands at Central Methodist University, his alma mater. In February he was inducted into the Missouri Music Educators Association (MMEA) Hall of Fame.

Rubin said one of her goals for Fayette is for the band to perform at MMEA, which is a prestigious honor. 

Fayette’s motto, which appears on the back of the band shirts, is: “Respect the Tradition, Build for the Future.” That’s just what Rubin has in mind as she takes the baton. She said no major changes to the program are in the plans. Fayette will still high step down the street to “Off the Line,” before cheering crowds of fans and parents, many of whom are alumni of the band.

“Off the Line is staying,” she said emphatically.

In fact, Rubin has been learning as much from her drum majors as they have been learning from her so far. “I got to learn the high step. They (the drum majors) taught that to me. They taught me the at-ease move, and the call to attention.”

Fayette drum majors for 2020 are senior Kylea Hoover, junior Bella Asbury, and sophomore Hanna Quint, while also playing quads in the percussion section, will be field commander. “I’m so impressed with their leadership,” Rubin said. “They're super positive, and going out of the way to learn. They're excited to lead the band this year.  I couldn't have asked for better kids.”

So far, Rubin expects the band to be 60-70 members strong. The theme of this year’s competition field show is Phantom of the Opera. She said the band picked it last year with Kirby, who also wrote the drill. “He really set me up for success,” Rubin said. She had also performed a similar show while leading the band at Brookfield. And there will be a separate show for halftime of the football games.

Sadly, due to the ongoing pandemic, two of Fayette’s three marching competitions for 2020 have already been canceled. Central Methodist last week announced it will not hold Band Day or Homecoming (see related articles on the Front Page of this newspaper). That same day, Carrollton Band Day was canceled. The only other marching competition still on the schedule is the Southern Boone Marching Classic Festival on October 17.

The band also marches in the Fayette’s annual Homecoming parade, which will take place on Friday, October 2. Fayette Superintendent Jill Wiseman said on Friday that so far, Fayette plans to celebrate Homecoming as normal.

The COVID-19 pandemic has also shortened practices for the marching band. Band camp last week was cut short by one day after a spike in cases was reported in Howard County. But Rubin said this just means she and the band will be creative when it comes to making changes. “We’re lucky because our administration has been super accommodating,” she said. The band has been allowed to practice in the gym and in classrooms so as to maintain recommended distancing.

In the meantime, Rubin said the band will continue to rehearse and move forward as if all competitions and football games are being held as scheduled. The Fayette marching Falcons will debut their season on Friday, September 4, at halftime of the high school football team’s home opener against Scotland County.