Southeast Iowa band directors recognized

Band teachers in Washington and New London have been nominated for the Karl King Distinguished Service Award, a recognition granted by the Iowa Bandmasters Association every year to both an active and retired director for their impact on the organization and their schools.

The active nominee for the Southeast Iowa region this year was Washington Middle School Band Director Craig McClenahan.

“It’s humbling, there are other directors, I feel, (that) have greater accomplishments with their bands,” McClenahan said. “I was surprised, but grateful, because I’m not the type of director that ever felt like this was going to be my career. When I started out in 1991, I kind of looked at being a band director as something I might do for five to seven years … and here I am 31 years later and you couldn’t pull me away from this job because it means so much to me.”

McClenahan said he was proud of his diverse background acknowledged by the award.

“If you put yourself on an island, you’re not going to get an award like this, no matter how many accomplishments. I think this is really an award of being in contact and being there for other directors,” he said. “I’ve never had a band perform at the Iowa Bandmasters Conference, and I know directors who’ve had four and five bands up there over their careers. Yet I look at that director and I say to myself, ‘Well, they haven’t taken their turn at being an officer for our district, they’ve never judged before, maybe they haven’t done elementary band.”

The director’s tendency to write original music for his bands is among McClenahan’s impressive habits, a remnant of his plans to become a composer when he started his career music.

“A lot of my small pieces of music I’ve written were for my students, younger students especially,” he said. “I like to tailor the music to what they need to work on, and give them a little say in the music. I may write the music, but I’ll allow them to write some of the details … I still record music, but it’s something I do more for fun, and maybe that’s a good thing.”

Nomination or not, McClenahan said he was satisfied with his work.

“I kind of went into the idea with this business that I wanted to make lots of money selling my songs, and be a great composer … the second thing was I wanted to influence young people in a positive way, and the third thing was I really wanted to do something I enjoyed and loved,” he said. “To quote the Meatloaf song, ‘Two of three ain’t bad,’ so I feel very blessed.”

The retiree nominee for the Karl King Award was Ron Coberly of New London.

“It’s very nice to have people in my profession elect me for this award,” said Coberly. “This is my second go around for this award. The first time that I won it was several years ago. You never know just what’s going to happen at the state level.”

“It’s a really nice award to get,” said Coberly. “It is nice to have recognition from the people that I have worked with all these years.”

Coberly graduated from Drake University in 1966. He started teaching in New London not long after that. He taught music for 40 years at the school, and has been substitute teaching for six schools since he has retired in 2006.

“I seem to not be able to get away from doing the substitute teaching thing,” said Coberly. “When I started out, I was teaching grades 5-12 at the school. I have even substituted in Mt. Pleasant for a while when their band director was out for a while.”

When asked how he got into being a band director, Coberly said, “I like to play trumpet and I liked working with kids. It seemed to be the thing to do.”

“I enjoy playing so much,” said Coberly. “I still play in the Burlington Municipal Band, and when they are short a trumpet player, I will come and play in Mt. Pleasant too.”

Comments: Kalen.McCain@southeastiowaunion.com

Michelle. Hillestad@southesatiowaunion.com