| The new school year in August of 1982 brought a new face to the Model Laboratory School faculty: Allan D. Stephens, the new director of the band program.
As is the case with any new leader of any organized program, when someone new comes in, there is a time of transition, and Mr. Stephens' arrival into the MLS band program was no exception. Enrollment in band class was one of the first things affected by Mr. Stephens' introduction. Mr. Schubert, the former band director, had been quite popular, and the general feelings by many band students was that if they couldn't have him as their teacher, they really didn't want anyone else -- no offense to Mr. Stephens, since they had no way of knowing how he was going to be, but some students decided to let this particular detail interfere with continuing their musical education. As a result, the number of students in the high school band class was drastically reduced by a little less than half. There were still an adequate amount of students per instrument to make for a band with some measure of depth. It is interesting to note that, while a number of chairs were lost by defecting upperclassmen, the incoming class of freshman more than made up for the difference; 14 ninth graders were in the class, constituting nearly half of the band. Was it because these freshmen were more serious about continuing their musical pursuits, or were they so anxious to have the opportunity to be in the high school band that they did not care who was teaching it and they just didn't know better? It may very well have been the latter, as only six were to return the following year. |  Mr. Stephens' 1983 Yearbook Photo from the Faculty/Staff page. Note the misspelling of the first name. It would take the yearbook staff a couple more years to finally get it right. |
But Mr. Stephens was optimistic that he could make it all work as he plunged into his first year. Especially optimistic was the first concert of his MLS Band career, the Christmas Collage on December 15, 1982, a joint gala featuring all of the MLS Bands and all of the MLS choruses together in one huge performance in Brock Auditorium on the EKU campus. It was a logistical nightmare, but somehow they pulled it off ... and, apparently, vowed never to attempt to do this again.
Meanwhile, on the Middle School Band side of things, enrollment was reaching an all-time high, to the point where there were two separate Middle School Bands meeting at two different class periods, and playing two different repertoires of tunes. In an attempt to educate those students who were not enrolled in band class, Mr. Stephens arranged for the Middle School Band to perform before their peers at a Middle School Assembly, which proved moderately successful, even if the middle schoolers had no idea what "The Sloop John 'B'" was ("Has anyone ever been to Nassau Town?"). In the spring of 1983, Mr. Stephens merged both bands together for the first Student Concert, in which the students themselves had the opportunity to select and conduct a piece. This proved to be quite successful and popular among the band students.
| MHS Band 1982-83 Members: 32 Please note that this listing is derived from the yearbook photo (which listed the band members alphabetically) and a comparison of the students' faces with their yearbook picture, as well as from memory, so some of the instrumentation matchups may not be altogether correct. Also, the original lineup lists a "C. Miller," but we cannot figure out who this was. If anyone can help out with any of this information, we would appreciate it! Since we do not know the chair order of the band members, we are listing them alphabetically within the instrument listing.
Flute Clarinet Saxophone F Horn Trumpet Trombone Tuba Percussion |
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The "legendary" David Eldot (pictured with Miss USA 1982 Terri Utley). One of the most talented musicians to come out of the Model Lab Bands system (playing in the McDonald's All-American Band) as well as one of the more academically talented students at Model High School (the winner of the scholarship cup). Had Mr. Stephens been awarding the Sousa award in his first year, however, David Eldot would not have won, based solely on the fact that he had not been in the band for four years -- but, in actuality, only two. |
Band Tunes Performed This Year: King Cotton March | |
 Christmas 1982 Program, Pages 1 and 2 |  Christmas 1982 Program, Pages 3 and 4 |
 Christmas 1982 Program, Back and Front |  Spring Concert Program, May 1983 |
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