Font ResizePowell was a band director for 36 years. He started at Dallastown Area School District in 1963 and later took at job in Eastern York School District in 1965, where he stayed until retiring in 1995.
"I was interested in students and kids," Powell said. He had just left the Navy - where he played trombone and baritone - when he took the job teaching music in school.
"At the time, the bands in York County were very competitive," he said. And once he was caught up in directing the band, it was all engulfing.
Marching band can open the world to students, allowing them to see and learn about places they otherwise would not, Powell said.
Kids in marching bands sometimes travel to California and Florida; a few even go to Europe or farther through programs such as the Pennsylvania Ambassadors of Music.
"They'll
"I was always proud of that."
Powell said Bradshaw was a hard worker as a high-school student at Eastern and, even then, exhibited many of the values he practices and teaches today.
"George sort of has the old-fashioned way of looking at things," Powell said of Bradshaw. "He is very involved with the community and parents. That's what it takes."
Even after all these years, Powell is happy to have influenced students to pursue careers in music. More than 50 of his former students went on to become professional musicians. Quite a few of his students are band directors, such as Bradshaw.
When asked how they got started as band directors, Powell and Bradshaw gave nearly the same answers.
"I think it was primarily the band director ... that I sort of copied and idolized," Powell said. "He took us places I never even thought of."
Bradshaw started playing the trumpet in fourth grade and graduated from Eastern in 1985. He said his marching band experience led to his career today at Dover.
"I had an outstanding high school band director," he said of Powell. "I made up my mind in high school that's what I wanted to do."
Bradshaw and some of his staff members are in their 15th year working with the Dover Eagle Marching Band. To celebrate the landmark anniversary, this year's marching band is performing a collection of several favorites from past performances, including "Moondance" and "Georgia on my Mind."
"It's just all of our favorites," Bradshaw said.
Preparing for marching-band season is basically a year-round process that ends in November, skips December and starts again in January.
"It's very time-consuming," Bradshaw said of the work.
But he and his fellow band staff members enjoy their jobs.
The cooperative spirit among the staff and students, desire to be the best possible band and love of performing drives the Eagles to work diligently, he said.
"The benefits far outweigh the amount of time that's involved," Bradshaw said.
In some ways, there's never enough time. The teamwork and school spirit among band members and staff seems addictive, contagious. Like at several other schools, many Dover graduates want to relive their roles in the marching band. They often return to the school for football games and continue to support the band.
"They always say, 'This is the part I miss,'" Bradshaw said.
In addition to directing the marching band, Bradshaw leads the school's concert, jazz and pep bands and small ensembles. He also teaches students to play special holiday selections and perform in nursing homes and for charity organizations.
"As a teacher who teaches all four grades, it is really nice to see the young student transform four years later into an outstanding young leader," he said.
And the legacy continues.
Christopher Derk is a 1995 Dover graduate who's in his 10th year working with the Dover marching band. He is the associate director and specializes in drill designs.
"What kept me coming back was the encouragement that was created when Mr. Bradshaw took over," he said.
"He's just an incredible guy to associate with."
Every year, five to 10 Dover grads express interest in coming back to help with the marching band, he said.
"I think that speaks volumes," Derk said.
Christopher Loser graduated from Dover in 1996 and is in his 11th year of working with the marching band.
"I actually had Mr. Bradshaw six and a half years as a band director," he said.
"He was actually the middle-school band director (before moving to the high school), so there's a real connection."
That connection led Loser to want to teach music.
"When I was either a sophomore or a junior I decided, 'I'm going to make my living being a musician,'" he said.
Loser teaches drum lessons and plays in bands. "I love working with the kids. It's awesome," he said.
"The kids ... they're there because they want to be," he said.
"They want to have fun ... they're willing to put the work in."
As freshmen, the students come to band seeming scared, he said.
"Band gives them the opportunity to have something in common with upperclassmen," he said.
Tim Bupp is a 2003 Dover graduate and a music-education major at Mansfield University.
"The Dover band gave me so much," said Bupp.
"The kids at Dover really love what they're doing. ... It's a drive - a common goal."
On marching
RICHARD POWELL OF LANCASTER, band director at Eastern York High School for more than 30 years, said marching band is a challenge.
"It's mentally demanding," he said. "Memorizing music is tough ... there's no sport that can even come close to that in my mind."
Marching-band students are in the limelight, and they're using eye, brain and movement-coordination skills, he said.
"This ability to think on your feet ... it seems to give students more self-assurance," Powell said. "It's sort of like they've had these mental push-ups they've been doing."
He said marching band provides students an amazing experience that includes hard work, learning more about other people and places and performing in exciting venues.
"That's quite a thrill," he said.
9-to-5
1. In marching band terms, to space your steps so that you take nine of them for every five yards of the football field.
2. (Slang) A job.
