Bryan Massengale at his last Rhea Middle School graduation in May of 2022.(Photo:GaryBolden/TennesseeCommunityMagazine)
Bryan Talks about His Love of Music and Love of Band
June 14, 2022
Evensville, TN -- At the end of the 2022 school year, Bryan Massengale retired from the Rhea County School system after 39 years of teaching and working with students and music. 39 years in service to the community spans a lifetime of memories, thousands of students. and countless hours of music. This article can only touch the service of the the 39 years span of Bryan Massengale in Rhea County. In the community we saw Bryan at football games, parades and concerts. We didn't see the many hours in the band room taking young people transitioned from a beginner to a much more accomplished band member. We didn't see the hours out on the field, teaching the footwork and teamwork necessary to put the finished product on the field for football and concerts. We didn't see the summer camps out on the hot football fields learning to be a band. We didn't hear all the hours of practice as young people transitioned into accomplished young musical students. We didn't see the hours of classroom instruction as he taught music theory. We saw the finished product and probably didn't fully appreciate the behind-the-scenes work necessary to make it happen.
Bryan was kind enough to answer a few questions as we look back at his time at Rhea County Schools.
What instrument did you play in school?
"In marching band, I played the Alto Saxophone. In concert band I played the Bassoon."
What are the key skills to being a good band director?
"I think the two most important skills are the ability to build relationships with the students and to have great listening skills. A band director is one of the few teachers in the system that has the chance to teach the same students over a multiple year time span. From beginning band until high school graduation, that can cover a period of 7 years. This sets up the perfect opportunity to develop a deeper relationship with students. You have the chance to understand that student on a different level and they also have the same chance to understand you as a teacher on a different level as well."
"I think you also have to have a great set of ears to be a successful band director. You have to be able to fine tune (on the fly during rehearsal) the band in several areas: intonation, blend, balance, tone quality, attacks, releases, just to name a few. To accomplish these tasks, it’s all in your ability to listen and communicate immediately the needed improvements to make the band better."
Where did you go to high school and college?
"I was born in Dayton, Tennessee. My high school years were split between two schools. Grade 9 and 10 were at Rhea Central High School in Dayton. The new (at the time) Rhea County High School in Evensville opened in 1974. I spent grades 11 and 12 there when the county consolidated the former Rhea Central High School and Spring City High School into one school."
"I attended college at the University of Tennessee located in Knoxville, Tennessee."
Who were members of your family?
"My parents were J.B. and Kate Massengale. I have three older sisters, Betty Massengale Lundeen, Beverly Massengale Revis, Connie Massengale Lackey, and one younger brother, Don Massengale. I have a twin brother who passed away right after we were born named William Brad Massengale. We were born 3 months early and I weighed 2 lbs and 6 oz."
Did anyone encourage you to be involved in music?
"My three older sisters were in band and I always LOVED attending their high school football games on Friday nights, parades, band competitions, and all their band concerts. I’ve always known that when it became my chance to join Beginning Band, I was going to do it!"
Can you share some of your favorite moments over your career?
"In college, two of my favorite memories are marching down Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington D.C. on January 20, 1977 in President Jimmy Carter’s Inaugural Parade…and marching with the University of Tennessee Pride of the Southland at the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana in 1978. It was also a special moment when I had the chance to watch my nephew (Brad Massengale) march with the UT band on that same field at Notre Dame in 2001."
"My favorite memory of teaching in Rhea County is when the Rhea County High School band marched in the New Year’s Day Parade in London, England on January 1, 1999. I had a student (Eric Bell) come up to me in the hotel lobby and he thanked me for talking him into joining beginning band back when he was in 5th grade. He said if it wasn’t for that, he wouldn’t be in London, England. That memory and the look on his face always puts a smile on my face. We Teach Music, We Teach Life."
What will you be doing after retiring?
"For at least a year or two, I’m going to be a substitute teacher. In doing so, I can give back to the county that has supported me all these years. I also want to continue my travels. I’ve been to 35 of the 50 states and have been to 13 foreign countries."
What advice would you give someone interested in being in their high school band?
"When it’s time, join your beginning band. Learning to play an instrument is a Fine Art and it’s something that can’t be learned over night or in a short time frame. Once you join, practice, practice, practice. Develop the skills needed to be the best you can be on your instrument, and that just takes time.
What hobbies do you have outside of music?
"Traveling (see above answer), University of Tennessee activities (Alumni Band Council, all types of sports, concerts, etc.)."
What are the biggest changes you have seen in teaching over the years?
"The number one biggest change has been the development of the technology used inside and outside the classroom. When I started teaching no one had even heard of a desktop computer. It was a game changer when I purchased my very first Apple IIe desktop computer for my house. I’m sure several can remember how you used to use a dial-up modem (I had a separate phone line installed in my house for this) and you used AOL (America On-Line) to connect to the internet."
What is considered the most difficult instrument(s) to learn to play?
"The four instruments in the Double Reed family: Oboe, English Horn, Bassoon, and Contra Bassoon."
Who were your band directors over the years and tell a little about each if you would not mind?
"I had three different band directors during all my years in school. Grades 7-10 was Larry Adams. He was a clarinet player with a degree from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Grades 11-12 was Marvin Hall. He was a bassoon player with a degree from Tennessee Tech University in Cookeville."
"My college director was the legendary Dr. WJ Julian. He was a violin player with degrees from Tennessee Tech University and Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. He was certainly a task master and taught me to never accept or be happy with mediocrity. His influence is still felt in the University of Tennessee band program to this day. His innovations such as: Circle Drill, Opening on the “T”, the Power T, Rocky Top, Tennessee Waltz are just a few of the staples in the long line of Tennessee Traditions."
If you had chosen a different career field, what would it have been?
"I would have been a pharmacist. Early on in high school, I wanted to be a band director. But during grades 11 and 12 I became very interested in Math and Science and started down a different career path. To this day, I can tell you exactly where and when things reverted back to me being a band director."
"In the fall of 1975, Rhea County High School was playing football at Bradley Central High School in Cleveland, Tennessee. This was my Senior Year and my fellow students had elected me to be Band Captain that year. As band captain, my director asked me to conduct the band on Friday night as our Drum Major (Becky Ross) was out of school with an illness. I conducted the band during our Thursday after school rehearsal and knew I was ready for Friday night. I was a little nervous walking across the field and climbing the director’s podium, but once the show started, I felt like I was at home. At the end the show, when I turned to face the audience and accept the applause, I knew my life had changed at that very moment. I knew I had to be a band director. This is what I want to do for the rest of my life. I came down off that director’s podium a different man from when I ascended seven minutes earlier. And to this day, when the Rhea County Band is performing at Bradley Central High School (be it a football game or a Saturday band competition), I get a little teary-eyed walking across that field as I’m remembering what happened on that very field on a Friday night back in 1975."
"In closing, I often tell my students to reach for their dreams, and reach for the stars. You never know where, or when, your dreams will come true. Thank you, Rhea County for helping this little boy from a town called Dayton in making his dreams come true."
