Talking with Whitney HS’s Band Director, Josh Nowlin
Hello again readers! We here at Original Breath Builder hope you have had a wonderful holiday season.
Today, we have one more gift for all of you: Mr. Josh Nowlin, current Band Director of Whitney High School, joined us for an interview to discuss his work and how OBB’s products have helped his band over the last several years. Marching and school bands are some of our favorite people to serve as we help young musicians start off strong! We’re so thankful for Nowlin’s time to let us ask him a few questions.
How long have you been with Whitney High School as its band director?
I've been the band director at Whitney High School for 7 years. Never has my wind ensemble or marching band sounded so clean. We started the Breath Builder® with our beginners and noticed that just simply using them makes our kids play with a bigger, darker sound.
As a band director, what are some of the typical duties that you oversee?
Marching Band, Beginner Classes, High School Wind Ensemble, Jazz Band.
Has your department gone to any tournaments?
Consistent 1st Division Ratings at UIL Concert and Sightreading as well as Marching Band.
What are some of the accolades that your department has received?
Advanced to 6th at Area Finals in 2021. Also advanced to State Wind Ensemble Festival in 2022.
What interested you in our company?
My Assistant Band Director saying..."We've got to try this."
How have our products helped your band department?
We’ve started using Breath Builders this summer and our first night out with the band was mind-blowingly awesome! Our staff and community couldn’t believe how big the band sounded at our first halftime show. The sound we get from our warmups, chorale, and show is noticeably the biggest and best it's ever been because we use the Breath Builders every day. Something else we started is when our sound gets too tight, we immediately go to Breath Builders for just a 30 second rep then back to the music. Then the music flows and the tone quality gets richer even if the kids lips are tired. This is going to be our most successful year yet.
Overall sound production has been so much better in all areas where we've tried the Breath Builder® We started the Breath Builders with our beginners and noticed that just simply using them makes our kids play with a bigger darker sound. Lots of our beginners have timing and breath control issues this year (Thank you, Covid). We've noticed that even when our kids don't breath accurately with a particular count structure, they still sound better after they've tried.
The ones who are able to keep the ball at the top of the tube and maintain consistent rhythmic breathing and exhaling are making the best sounds. Who'd have thought that Original Breath Builder would make kids even better rhythm-ists. We'll be buying the Breath Builder® for all our kids every year. Thanks Original Breath Builder Folks!
In one word, describe what band means to you.
Band means fun.
We couldn’t agree with you more- band is meant to be fun! Thanks again, Mr. Nowlin, for joining us today. It was a pleasure to sit down with him and discuss his work with the Whitney High School marching band! And thank you, dear reader, for taking the time to read today’s post. We’ll see you again in the new year!
