In May, Marietta High School said goodbye to 33-year veteran band director Eric
Gallaway and hello to a new guy, Rayne Adams. Adams, who’s been a “band geek”
since sixth grade, has stepped in to fill some big shoes and appears to be doing a bang
up job of it so far.
Adams is a 2020 graduate of Madill High School and a 2026 graduate of Southeastern
Oklahoma State University, where he earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Music
Education with influence in instruments.
The desire to teach school snuck up on Adams, as it does with many people.
“I started my senior year of high school thinking I would do something in the medical
profession or maybe go to law school,” he remembered. “But I was a teacher aide for
my band director, and I had the opportunity to work with the beginning brass band.
There was a student who didn’t do much, just showed up and didn’t really participate.
“He missed a week of school, and the band director asked me to take him aside and get
him caught up. In the first lesson, he actually started trying. The next day he came in
excited to show me what he’d practiced. I saw that light in his eyes, and that’s all it took.
I knew that this was what I wanted to do with my life.”
After Adams was hired at Marietta back in the spring semester he began meeting with
his future band students.
“I wanted to understand the classroom environment, the relationships between
students, and I wanted to see how I would meld into that picture,” he said. “I tried to
learn as much as I could before I started the job.”
Adams’s first official duties came with Summer Band Camp, which he held the week of
July 27 through 31 from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.
While many people may assume that a halftime marching show just creates itself, they
couldn’t be further from the truth. By the time a band hits the football field in September,
there are countless hours of practice involved, both in working on music and marching.
“If we want to have success as a marching band, whether that’s a halftime show or in
competition, band is just like any other sport or extracurricular activity – it takes a lot of
practice,” explained Adams. “There’s also an adjustment for the kids to make. They
were used to Mr. Gallaway, and band camp was my first chance to make an impression
on the kids so they can learn my style.”
Adams worked during the camp to give the kids an idea of the new expectations as well
as his hopes and goals for the year.
“These are great kids, very capable,” he said. “Taking a whole week of their summer for
camp is asking a lot, but most of them were happy to be there and get a headstart on
the year.”
During band camp, Adams focused on several elements of marching, trying to instill the
good habits that students require to be a member of a successful marching band. In
addition, Adams spent time introducing students to music that they’ll be playing in this
year’s show, “Agent 54,” written by Randall Standridge.
“Our show will use similar ideals from movie soundtracks like ‘Mission Impossible’ and
‘James Bond,’” Adams stated. “It’s challenging music, but definitely nothing that the kids
can’t handle, and they are excited about it.”
The first home game of the football season, which is also homecoming against Madill,
will be September 4, and Adams and his band of 40-50 students will be ready to march.
“I really tried during summer camp to impress on the kids that there are no
benchwarmers in band,” he explained. “Everybody plays an integral part and those
around you rely on you being there to succeed. Band requires commitment and
dedication and that’s one of the things that we emphasize the most.”
For someone who’s been dedicated to band since sixth grade, his first job as a band
director is a dream come true for Adams, and he is ready to hit the ground running.
“The band hall was a constructive outlet for me, a place where I could focus and
participate with like-minded individuals in something that was greater than myself,”
added Adams.
“That’s what I want for our band. The kids have the dedication, enthusiasm, and hard-
working mindset, so we will be here to make art and entertain, to show people why band
is important and how much enjoyment and fulfillment students can get from music.”