This NC Band Director Named One Of The Best In U.S.

CHARLOTTE, NC — 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. Windy Fullagar of Alexander Graham Middle School in Charlotte was recently named one of the 50 best in the country.

Here’s what School Band and Orchestra Magazine had to say about Fullagar:

What is your proudest moment as an educator?
My proudest moment is not just one moment, it occurs every time I see a child’s face light up in reaction to music. For some children, band is the one thing that drives them to attend school; it’s those children, those whose home lives are not as easy as the rest of the world, that make my job the most gratifying. If I can reach them and get them hooked into music, perhaps maybe, I’ve given them a tool to relieve stress, process strong emotions and an outlet for expression.

How do you hope to make a difference in your students’ lives?
I hope through band, I can offer opportunities for students to try something different, to step out of their comfort zones, to build confidence and express themselves in a new way.

What’s the most important lesson that you try to teach your students?
I hope that in my time with students, that I offer them the skills needed to be great musicians but more than that; I want them to be incredible humans. Humans who care for one another, work together with others, humans who know it’s ok to make mistakes but to learn from them, that confidence is the only battle that we need to win.

Fullagar was recently promoted to the district’s Performing Arts Specialist, and is already missed, Alexander Graham Middle School Principal Robert Folk told Patch. (For more news like this, find your local Patch here. If you have an iPhone, click here to get the free Patch iPhone app; download the free Patch Android app here.)

“Windy has elevated our Band program at Alexander Graham Middle School over the past eight years,” Folk said. “Windy is deeply committed to educating students in music performance and appreciation. Teaching students from beginning music in middle school to our neighboring high school marching band, Windy is a passionate and tireless educator."

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.”

Photo provided to Patch by Robert Folk