Guilford's Band Director Named Among Best In U.S.: Magazine

Every year, school band members march in precision at football games and parades, or perform moving overtures as part of orchestra performances. The bands don’t get there by accident — they’re guided by band directors.

Mark A. Gahm, of E.C. Adams Middle School/Guilford High School, was recently named one of the 50 best in the country. He has been an educator for 24 years.

Here’s what School Band and Orchestra Magazine had to say about Gahm.

Gahm says that he loves the small victories seen on a daily basis, including a seventh-grade clarinetist who struggled initially to pick it up but by working together the student has since excelled.

"Moments like that are what get me out of bed every morning excited to go to work," Gahm said, according to the magazine article.

He said working with students at both the middle and high school levels allows him to really make a difference and help them along, especially if they want to pursue music as a career. But even if the student isn't interested in music as a career, he hopes he fosters an environment that allows them to have fun and escape day-to-day stresses.

This isn't the first time Gahm and the Guilford Public Schools music program have been recognized for a job well done. In June 2016 the Guilford High School Student Orchestra won the prestigious and competitive Connecticut High School Music Theatre award for best student orchestra in the school's West Side Story musical.

Gahm at the time told Patch that what makes Guilford's student orchestra so special is that for productions they rely largely on students, while many schools have to hire professionals to assist.

School Band and Orchestra Magazine compiled the list of “50 Directors Who Make a Difference” after sifting through hundreds of nominations that came from current and former students, music instrument retailers, band parents, school administrators, friends, former band directors and spouses of band directors.

The magazine has been compiling the list for about two decades.

“This is the most fun we have every year, and also the very hardest issue to produce,” the magazine’s editors wrote.

“The nomination stories submitted are moving, heartfelt, and often very personal pleas from the nominator to recognize their director for the work they do,” the magazine continued. “We wish we could do an issue and just honor all the people submitted at once. Our final selections have been made, but it was not easy.”

>>>Read School Band and Orchestra Magazine 's full list here.

Patch file photo