CANYON The life of the late Andrews High School Band Director Darin Johns will be commemorated Wednesday by the West Texas A&M University Concert Band.
Featuring former students of Johns, the piece is called “The Essence of Memory” and will be performed at 6 p.m. Wednesday in Mary Moody Northen Recital Hall on WT’s Canyon campus.
It will also be livestreamed on the School of Music’s Facebook page.
BJ Brooks, WT professor of music theory and composition and director of the Buffalo Marching Band, was commissioned to write the piece.
The music commemorates the life of Johns, who died in a Nov. 19 bus-pickup crash near Big Spring. Also killed in the wreck was Marc Elbert Boswell, an Andrews High math teacher and director of data information systems, who was driving the school bus, a news release said.
The concert band also will perform Brooks’ “Willows of Winter,” conducted by student Shelby Easley-McPherson, a graduate music performance student from Odessa; “Galactic Empires” by David Gillingham; “Xerxes” by John Mackey, conducted by student Emily Henson, a graduate music performance student from Hereford; and the finale of Vasily Kalinnikov’s Symphony No. 1 in G Minor.
The concert’s band performance will be followed at 8 p.m. by the WT Symphonic Band.
Russ Teweleit, associate professor of music, associate director of bands and coordinator of music education, said he had known of Johns, but first came in contact with him in 2014 because he was in charge of the ATSSB all-region band.
Teweleit said Johns helped him get everything organized and Johns was “just a great guy; among the best of the best to get to work with.”
He said performing the piece is affecting.
“… I’ve had students from his bands that come to camp. At the time of the accident, I had two of his students in my band. They (are) actually going to be performing on the piece as well. The piece is super impactful and it’s great to honor somebody who had such a positive influence on so many people’s lives. …,” Teweleit said.
Former students of Johns’ performing in the concert band include sophomore Anthony NovoGradac and junior Landon Proffitt.
Proffitt, a French horn player, said Johns was a mentor to him.
“It was pretty rough. I spoke at his funeral. I still have a necklace that he gave me. There’s quite a bit of stuff. It was quite emotional. I’ve gone through the grieving process, but I’m better now,” Proffitt said.
He added that he thinks it’s great that he gets to perform a piece dedicated to Johns.
He said Brooks he consulted him before he published the piece, played it for Proffitt and let him listen to it. Brooks also took some of Proffitt’s input.
“It was pretty honorable that he did that and he asked me a few questions about Darin and stuff like that when writing that piece and composing it,” Proffitt said.
After fighting off tongue cancer twice, Proffitt said Johns couldn’t play low brass instruments in general.
“… But he forced himself to learn French horn and trumpet. He started playing trumpet in rehearsal and he really started teaching me on (French) horn. That was really one of the big, pivotal moments in my life … because that’s when I decided I wanted to (go into) music is when he started working with me on my solo work and providing insight,” Proffitt said.
He added that Johns was a “very upright man” and a Christian believer.
He said Johns poured a lot into his church. Johns was “super passionate about music and passionate about teaching.”
Proffitt said he also was passionate about music where as some musicians are love band because they like being part of the band family.
Proffitt is studying music technology so he can go into the behind-the-scenes work of music production.
Brooks said he was contacted a few weeks after the bus accident about writing a piece honoring Johns and he felt honored to do so.
He said many people, especially in West Texas, love their band directors.
Brooks said he thinks it’s wonderful to have students from Andrews playing the piece.
“I think playing music can be very cathartic and that’s … why many people listen to it. It provides a means for people to express their thoughts and memories …,” Brooks said.
