Fairfield welcomes new band director

FAIRFIELD — When the Fairfield High School marching band takes the field this fall, it will be doing so under new leadership.

Hannah Ball is the school’s new band director, taking over for Jim Edgeton, who had been at the post 29 years. Ball is a native of Tama, where she attended South Tama High School and later graduated from Simpson College. After graduating from Simpson, Ball taught band at Lone Tree for four years before landing this job in Fairfield.

Monday was the first day of marching band practice, where the students met in small groups to practice their music in the shade of the trees outside the high school.

“The first day went well, and it was nice to meet all these kids for the first time,” Ball said. “We’re looking forward to a more normal band experience, since last year was so weird.”

Ball said some students took a year off from band due to the pandemic but are rejoining this year. Last school year, the band and choir programs operated under restrictions for a portion of the year that limited them to meeting in groups no larger than five when they met indoors.

Ball has been busy all summer planning the marching band show, working on the music and choreography.

“For this first summer, I wanted to take inventory of what the program has, and look for any areas for growth or change,” Ball said.

The theme of this year’s show is “conspiracy theory” and will include just two pieces, but Ball said the pieces are long.

The Fairfield football team will compete in a scrimmage during Meet the Trojans Friday night at Trojan Stadium, but the band won’t be part of that. The marching band’s first performance will be at the Trojans’ first regular season home game on Sept. 2. The band will perform at the four football home games.

In addition to marching during halftime of the football games, the band will march in the Kiwanis Kids Day Parade Sept. 18, the Davis County Marching Band Festival in Bloomfield in early October, and the Band Extravaganza in late October, the band’s final show of the season. The Band Extravaganza will coincide with a chili supper and an awards ceremony. In November, the band will transition from its marching band routine into concert band.

Assisting Ball with the marching band is Mallory Mahon, the district’s new middle school band instructor. Fairfield alumna Katie McClain is in charge of the color guard, which she participated in a couple of years ago as a high school student.

Background

Ball said she knew she wanted to be a teacher when she was in high school, though at the time she saw herself teaching English.

“In high school, I really started to get into music and thought it would be more fun to teach that,” she said.

Ball participated in South Tama’s concert, pep and marching bands, playing the clarinet. Her other hobbies included playing tennis and volunteering at the local Humane Society’s shelter walking dogs and cleaning kennels.

Ball said she doesn’t have any teachers in her family, she just “really liked school,” and felt at home there, especially in the band room. Ball earned a scholarship to attend Simpson College in Indianola, where she obtained her degree in music education. She said music education feels like a double major, because students must take classes in education and in music performance to improve their own playing skills.

After college, Ball began teaching fifth-grade through high school band at Lone Tree. Though a small school, Lone Tree had a concert, pep, jazz and marching band.

Ball said she enjoyed getting to teach so many different grades, from teaching the beginners how to blow air through their instrument to teaching the high schoolers advanced musical techniques with expression and dynamics.