The East Atlanta Elementary Band – 1958 thru 1962

In 1958, I was a third grader at Kirkwood Elementary School in Atlanta, Georgia. When the school year started, our teachers told us that soon we'd have an opportunity to join the school band. We were told about a music teacher named Mr. Bradley, who would come and audition us. My eight-year-old mind was already set on playing the clarinet (like Pete Fountain!)  We met with Mr. Bradley in a small room to the right of the stage in the school auditorium. Eventually, he called each of us to come in and audition for him. The audition consisted of Mr. Bradley clapping out a series of cadences that we were asked to repeat back to him. Those who could do it to his satisfaction passed; and those who couldn't failed. After passing my audition, I told Mr. Bradley that I wanted to play the clarinet, and he told me to have my parents purchase a clarinet before our next lesson. When I mentioned this to my mother, she abruptly informed me that we could not afford to buy a clarinet, so I was very disappointed! Later, when I told Mr. Bradley of my dilemma, he told me that playing a clarinet was not that important, because he already had dozens of clarinets! Also, he pointed out that I could play one of the school-supplied instruments, specifically, the French Horn, which he said was very expensive and the most difficult of all the instruments to play; so not many students were volunteering to play it.

But, he said that the French Horn had become the featured instrument in many contemporary bands and orchestras; and, after listening to his "pitch," I told him, "Yes, I'd like to play the French Horn!" So, he sent me home with an old, beat-up and dented melophone, which was similar to a French Horn, but not as sophisticated; and, he instructed me to concentrate on "buzzing" the mouthpiece and playing notes until my next lesson. Also, he told me to attend the next C-Band practice at East Lake Elementary School. As it turned out, this was to be my first and only practice with the C-Band, because Mr. Bradley told me to report to the A-Band practice the following week. He also told me that he wanted me to make the trip with the A-Band to Hattisburg, Mississippi in February of 1958. So, within just a few weeks, I found myself surrounded by a group of very accomplished musicians, collectively called "the A-Band," who served as powerful role models to a very green rookie from the third grade!

The East Atlanta Elementary Band was made up of students from seven Atlanta elementary schools: Kirkwood, East Lake, Peterson, Burgess, Mary Lin, Gordon, and West.  And, we always had a few students from more distant elementary schools, who simply wanted to play with the EAEB because of their family ties or because of the band's reputation. These students were allowed to play as long as they attended the weekly rehearsals and had individual lessions with Mr. Bradley. Those of us who attended Kirkwood Elementary School had our fifteen-to-twenty-minute lesson with Mr. Bradley on Thursdays, in the same room where we had auditioned, and in the presence of other students he had summoned for their music lessons (i.e. he usually called for five or six of us at one time so that no time was lost waiting for  the next group to arrive). Our lessons usually consisted of our playing scales (Mr. Bradley was very strict about our learning scales!) and the music he had assigned for us to learn. And, because it was mandatory that we practice our instruments forty-five minutes per day,  we had to keep a notebook and have a parent sign our time sheet each day of the week (including weekends!). He would review our timesheet and update our "Rating," which was a numerical, score-keeping system that Mr. Bradley used in awarding medals that we wore on the shoulders of our uniforms.

Each achievement medal represented a milestone in our Rating, and it gave us the incentive to strive to achieve the next medal. The first achievement medal was a bronze leaf and represented a Rating of one hundred points. The next was a silver eagle, which represented two hundred points. Then, a silver star was given for the first 500 points; and a gold star was given for the first and each additional increment of 700 points. Finally, the silver five-star-cluster represented 2,500 points; and after it was achieved, then only newly earned gold stars (i.e for 3,200, 3,900, and 4,600 point ratings, etc.) could be worn along with the five-star-cluster. By the time a student reached the seventh grade, he or she would likely be adorned by an assortment of medals that added a sense of accomplishment and integrity to their EAEB uniform.

Each year, when the A-Band went to the Music Festival held by the Georgia Educators Music Association, we would all receive a blue ribbon with medallion for our "Superior" rating in the competition. Some of us got additional blue ribbons for solo work or work we did in small groups; but, it was very rare for any of us to get anything less than a superior rating (red ribbons represented an excellent rating, and I'm not even sure if they gave ribbons for anything less). When I graduated from the band in 1962, the EAEB had never received anything less than a superior rating, so all of my medals were blue; except for the red, white, and blue ribbon with gold medallion that I received from Mr. Bradley at the EAEB Awards Dinner in 1962, when he presented me with the Ritter Award for personal achievement. This picture of me in 1963 in my Murphy High School Band uniform shows the Ritter Award on my right chest  (reader's left) and my blue ribbon band medals on my left chest (i.e. reader's right).

The EAEB rehearsals were in East Lake Elementary School's auditorium. Usually, the C-Band met first and rehearsed for an hour; then the B-Band for an hour, followed by the A-Band for two hours. Many of us, myself included, also took weekly private lessons with high school students, who had usually played our same instrument in the EAEB a few years earlier. Two of my French Horn tutors were Bruce Floyd and Gaylord Cleveland. And, by the time I reached the sixth grade, I was giving private lessons (and getting paid for them!) to our younger students in the EAEB. I also taught a student that was in high school, but had not had opportunity to play in an elementary school band, so I agreed to teaching a much older student.

Probably the highlight of my years in the EAEB was the trips that we took to perform at National Music Educators' conferences. In 1960, my father and mother, Bill and Dot Yancey, agreed to take leadership positions of the EAEB Band Parent's Association, so as a family, we were heavily involved in all of the planning sessions and fund raisers that made those trips possible. As President and Vice President of the B.P.A., they agreed to serve two consecutive terms, spanning  the school years 1961 and 1962, so they coordinated all of the plans for both the Asheville and Pittsburg trips with Charlie and Beverly Bradley.

The trips were more than a concert; they were an event!

[TO BE CONTINUED ... UNDER CONSTRUCTION!]

Regards,
Margie Yancey Cash