Teena Venable graduated from the University of Tennessee in May of 1977 and moved to Maynardville that August to start a band program for the schools. She discovered that there was a lot of musical talent in Union County.
At that time, the high school band was open to all grade levels. When she was starting out, Ms. Venable had eight students who already knew how to play and a small group of beginning musicians. Those eight students proudly marched in the 1977 Homecoming Parade.
One student was so excited for the opportunity to learn the trumpet that he brought Ms. Venable a sock full of coins to rent an instrument!
Dawn Patelke was soon hired to teach band at Luttrell, Sharps Chapel and Big Ridge Elementary schools. Now there were four schools with band students going into the high school band each year, including musicians, a flag corps and majorettes. It wasn’t long before there were around 75 students participating.
UCHS had a marching band but were in sore need of uniforms. Frances Russell and the Band Boosters raised most of that money selling ads and raffling a quilt. But their biggest fundraiser for the new band uniforms was a cookbook that the Band Booster ladies put together – a cookbook so good that Frances still uses it today!!
Hunter Collins’ story is the success story of a local boy who left for a musical education and came back to direct the Union County High School Patriot Band. After graduating from UCHS, Hunter went on to earn a Bachelor of Music in Performance from Tennessee Technological University and a Master of Music in Performance from Louisiana State University. Now, in addition to teaching, he is working on a Master of Education in Curriculum and Instruction at Carson Newman University—which should be completed in August of this year.
During all that time, he gained a lot of other life experiences. Hunter’s instrument is the oboe, and he has played at Carnegie Hall in New York City, at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, with the Bryan Symphony Orchestra in Cookeville, and with the Baton Rouge Symphony in Louisiana. Locally, Hunter has appeared with both the Oak Ridge and Knoxville Symphony orchestras.
Assistant Directors Hannah Haynes and Hope Williams help Hunter with the logistics of the band.
“We try to bring in guest artists as often as possible, so students get professional feedback from someone who specializes in their instrument,” Hunter said.
“Devan Jaquez (Principal Flute for the Knoxville Symphony) visited in the fall. Some of our other guests have included Sam Chen (principal trombone for Knoxville Symphony), Dr. Preston Light (tuba professor at TN Tech), Dr. Jeff Womack (bassoon professor at TN Tech), and Ethan McDaniel (percussion professor at UT Chattanooga). They have all mentored members of the band. The band is also hosting Dr. Christian Zembower (director of bands at ETSU) and Dr. Brett Long (trumpet professor at ETSU).”
The Union County Patriot Band functions as a liaison between the students and the community. They perform for school-sanctioned events such as basketball and football games.
You can catch their performance in county parades as well as concerts at the Union County High School Dawn Patelke Auditorium. The band performs in four concerts every year including Veterans Day and a Christmas concert.
The Tenn. Secondary School Band Directors’ Association has been hosting Spring Festival groups from all over the region at UCHS, which is quite a compliment to both the band and the school.
The band concerts generally have a theme. One such dynamic concert featured “Music from Around the World” and included music from Korea, Japan, Eastern Europe and Dixieland Jazz – all fabulous music that students might not have otherwise been exposed to.
This year’s Spring Concert is “Song and Dance.” It will include “Crazy Train” (Ozzy Osbourne), “Jungle Dance” (musical celebration of the strength and energy of life in the jungle), “Arabian Dances” (with an air of mystery and Mideastern sounds), “The Water is Wide” (the Scottish folk song describing the challenges of love), “Wellerman” (a New Zealand Sea Shanty), and “Rippling Watercolors” (a beautiful piece that explores the textures and rich sounds of music). Be sure to catch this exciting program on Thursday, May 2 at 7 p.m.
Hunter feels that you never know what kind of spark a music program can ignite in a child and you never know how much support a child can get from a community. A music student may not go on to become a professional, but studies have shown that music improves motor skills, coordination, social skills, confidence, creativity and language. The development of a child or teen who learns to play music is more than twice that of one who engages in sports, theater or dance.
The UCHS Patriot Band, with Drum Major Breanna Smith, will be performing at the Union County Lions Club Spring Concert. This concert, part of the GCMA God & Country Concert Series, features Southern Gospel groups Poet Voices and The Browders. It will be held at Union County High School in the Dawn Patelke Auditorium on May 18th at 7 p.m.