Bluefield_Rules 46 Report Share Posted June 9, 2007 http://www.bdtonline.com/local/local_story_159213750.html Though the band numbers have gotten smaller over the years due to the declining population the quality has remained a stalwart. There isn't s finer high school band in this region, especially when it comes to performing the National Anthem. It won't be the same on Friday evenings without seeing Ol' Mel driving the Beaver Band bus to wherever the Beavers are playing that night. Beaver Band director retiring baton after 27 years By BILL ARCHER Bluefield Daily Telegraph BLUEFIELD  On May 21, when he went into the band room to tell members of the Bluefield High School Beaver Band that he had filed the documents to retire as BHS band director, William Melton “Mel†Saunders was so overwhelmed, that he couldn’t speak the words. “I wrote it down on the blackboard,†Saunders, 54, said. He still struggles with emotions as he recalls the story. “I would have preferred making that announcement at the end of the school year, but I filed the paperwork so the school board would have enough time to post the position at their May meeting. It was the hardest decision I have ever made in my life.†Saunders has served as the front man for a group of student musicians that has earned countless honors during his 27 years behind the baton, but the experience of working with the students means a lot more to Saunders than years of service and a hallway filled with trophies. “Look here,†he said motioning to his left wrist. “The band boosters gave me a gold watch.†The clock in Saunders’ office reads 4:40 and 13 seconds, “And has since the Fall of 1980,†he said. “It keeps accurate time twice a day.†BHS wasn’t his first choice in his career as a real-life music man, but the tumblers of his life just fell into place to make the Beaver Band a perfect fit. Saunders was eight years old when he lost his father  a high school biology teacher  to a brain aneurysm. One of his dad’s colleagues introduced Saunders to the tuba with hopes that the kind of discipline involved in serious musicianship would help fill the void left by the unexpected passing of his loving father. “The Lord has always looked out for me,†Saunders said. Saunders’ office is jammed-packed with countless photos, clippings and momentos of his life. He has an article about the Civil War era home his father was restoring at the time of his death, an old postcard of his high school  Jefferson High in Roanoke, Va.  little reminders of the sentiments left by 27-years worth of senior band members and what seems to be about every scrap of paper he has touched throughout his teaching career. “When Bill Norton was principal, the city fire marshal came through here on an inspection and declared my office a fire hazard,†Saunders said with what appeared to be a hint of pride in his voice. He appears to know the location of every photo, scrap of paper and nick-knack and can retrieve each instantly. “I gotta get this office cleaned out,†he said. Saunders rode his tuba from the humble circumstances of his single-parent home to a college scholarship at Concord University, but along the way, he had the opportunity to perform with his high school band at Mitchell Stadium during half-time of a game between Jefferson and BHS. “All I remember about that game was that they (Beaver) kicked our butts,†Saunders said. Gibson Morrisy, a Bluefield native and conductor of both the Roanoke Symphony and Roanoke Youth Symphony brought the young performers for a performance at the BHS auditorium in Saunders’ freshman or sophomore year. “We got ready right in this very band room,†he said. “I wasn’t going to be a music major, but I got brainwashed into it by my junior high band director. We had a new band director my senior year. He graduated at Concord. That’s where I went because I could get a scholarship.†After he finished Concord, Saunders applied for a band director’s position in Tazewell County, but found out late in the process that he was the school’s second choice. “I asked the guy who was their first choice where else he had been. When he said, ‘Central Junior High in Bluefield,’ I went there and put in my application.†While Jack White was reluctant to hire Saunders because his hair was a little long and he had a full beard, he gave the young Roanoker a job in the Fall of 1974. “Jack has been to all but one of my Christmas concerts since I got the job at the high school in 1980,†Saunders said. “I’ve had great support from the community since I’ve been here,†he said, choking up again. “I’ve always tried to respond by taking the band to support community activities no matter how far away they have to go,†he said while alluding to a 4:30 a.m., trip the band took to Saltville, Va., in 1999 to perform at a sunrise service in honor of the men of the 5th and 6th U.S. Colored Cavalry who died in the 1864 Battle of Saltville. Emily Saunders, the third and youngest child of Saunders and his wife, Holly, graduated from BHS in June. “She was there on the front page of the newspaper as class salutatorian,†Saunders said with pride. Mel and Holly’s son, Stephen Saunders, 26, is in the process of joining the U.S. Army Band, and their daughter Jenene Ferguson will be relocating to Winston-Salem, N.C., this summer as her husband enters the Southern Theological Seminary. All five Saunderses perform in the East River Mountain Town Band that performed Friday night in Bluefield’s Chicory Square and are set to perform again tonight at Pipestem. “This weekend may be the last chance for all of us to perform together,†Saunders said. Holly and Jenene both play clarinet, Stephen plays trombone, Emily plays French horn and Mel Saunders plays tuba. “This was the hardest decision of my life, but I felt like the Lord was leading me to this decision,†Saunders said. “With my age and my years of service and the fact that our kids are all out of school,†Saunders said, “I just felt it was time for me to make this move.†Saunders said he plans to continue his work with the East River Mountain Town Band and hopes to continue giving private tuba lessons at Concord University. “I like staying busy,†he said. Saunders emotionally recalled numerous moments of his career, most involving various antics at band camp as well as touching tributes he has received from present and former band members concerning how the program enriched their lives. “The kids are different every year,†he said. “Every year was unique and special.†He also praised the BHS faculty members he worked with. “I admire the academic teachers,†he said. “I think the thing I brought to the program during the past 27 years has been consistency. Before I got here, there were three band directors in six years. We’ve been able to create a consistently solid band every year. We never had a band I would be ashamed of to put out there to represent this school and our community.†In addition to his undergraduate degree at Concord, Saunders holds a masters degree from the Shenandoah Conservatory of Music in Winchester, Va. While his bands have excelled in competitions throughout his tenure, Saunders himself has enjoyed great success in his professional career. He was named West Virginia Band Director of the Year in 1995-96 by the Tau Chapter of the Phi Beta Mu International Band Fraternity, was named BHS “Teacher of the Year†in 1999 and received the “Outstanding Music Educator Award†in 2004 from the National Federation of High Schools.  Contact Bill Archer at barcher@bdtonline.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bogeavers 10 Report Share Posted June 11, 2007 Post deleted by bluefieldRocks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest BEAVERTAIL Report Share Posted August 17, 2007 However. he left us in great hands. Jenks has them playing the sportscenter theme. It sounds awesome. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bogeavers 10 Report Share Posted August 20, 2007 Post deleted by bluefieldRocks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest BEAVERTAIL Report Share Posted August 20, 2007 yeah but the music is what it is all about haha. i know i have no idea what band is about but, i love the new music. Except i wish Fantasy by Earth Wind and Fire would come back haha Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluefieldRocks 14 Report Share Posted August 25, 2007 Band sounded good tonight. They played that darth vader theme which was pretty friggin cool... they also played the sportscenter opening music Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bogeavers 10 Report Share Posted August 25, 2007 Post deleted by bluefieldRocks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest BEAVERTAIL Report Share Posted August 26, 2007 bogeavers, what was that song that the band played when the game was over and the fireworks started? Im thinking maybe the band had played it before, maybe a couple of years back? anyways it was sounding great... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bogeavers 10 Report Share Posted August 26, 2007 Post deleted by bluefieldRocks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest BEAVERTAIL Report Share Posted August 26, 2007 i remember vehicle from meet the beavers, so that might be it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lowsingle 10 Report Share Posted August 26, 2007 It was Vehicle Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest BEAVERTAIL Report Share Posted August 26, 2007 your right, i remember the song now that i listened to it on youtube Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluefieldRocks 14 Report Share Posted August 27, 2007 I love the songs the band plays now... The darth vader (star wars) tune is the best, but the sports center theme is in a close 2nd That was the song I was telling you about BeaverTail, I just didnt know the name Here it is http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E3RGgEKsQH8&mode=related&search= Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeaverHokie 35 Report Share Posted August 27, 2007 [ QUOTE ] The band was sounding really good at the game last night. I could tell that everyone really stepped it up this week and they busted their butts to get the show and the other tunes into good shape. If they keep up the work every week, they will be an excellent band by the 4th or 5th week of the season. Good work! [/ QUOTE ] My dad didn't have good things to say about the band, but then again, he can be overly negative some times, so I learn to take what he says with a grain of salt. How big is the band this year? Bigger or smaller than the last few years? One thing that has always disappointed me is the size of the band. Then again, Mel always chose quality over quantity. My ex-wife was in the Graham band, and they apparently had some folks who played "silent". Made the numbers look big, but the sound didn't match. The word was, Graham band was open to anyone who wanted to be in it (the ex told me this, I sure can't vouch for it),a nd Bluefield was a lot more competitive. My first cousin was the band director at Princeton for a few years several years back, and he really messed up their band, according to my dad. Dad says they sound better now. One thing I have always, always liked is the sound of the band coming up the hill into the stadium, with the drumline playing a cadence. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FOOTBALLMAN 10 Report Share Posted August 27, 2007 cant lie i was nervous cause they don't have half as many as mel used to have and i was worried about some of the more traditional sounds but to be honest i think the new dude added some.. like ppl said the new stuff..there was someold stuff..didn't hear rocky... but something else i enjoyed under mel the band kinda held back after the first half and didnt' play as much in the seconed but not friday they came with it plus i enjoyed seeing the director play with them so overall thumbs up from me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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