Andrew Crighton
Life Editor
When Patrick Brooks first arrived as the new director of bands for ISU in 1991, the university hadn’t had a marching band in around eight years.
Since his arrival, the music department has grown exponentially.
“That’s one of the things that attracted me to this position,” Brooks said. “I had never been strong at teaching marching band, so in many ways it was a very good fit.”
Brooks’ job entails organizing and overseeing the activity of jazz bands, concert bands and marching bands. In addition, he instructs classes, conducts several student ensembles and performs trombone alongside other faculty in the Idaho State Civic Symphony Orchestra.
Reintroducing the marching band was one of the main ways that Brooks expanded the band department.
It was done as a way to draw new students to the university, but also because it could have beneficial impacts to the student body at large, the community and student athletics.
With the reformed band, a new staff position opened and a budget was drawn up, providing for a larger scholarship pool for students.
One of the main sources of pride for Brooks is that the band is very regional and local.
While students have travelled to Europe a few times in the past, according to Brooks the departments do most of their work within 100 miles of Pocatello.
According to Brooks, regardless of what a student chooses to major in, the draw of having a college band can be a very attractive thing, especially to former high school band members.
Over the two-and-a-half decades Brooks has been at ISU, he has seen many benefits for the arts on campus, such as the building of the L.E. and Thelma E. Stephens Performing Arts Center and the number of students in the music department increase from around 23, to over 100.
However, there have been issues as well.
“Decreased budgets in relation to increases in tuition have been an issue in our department. I will absolutely say that,” Brooks said.
He has seen students who have had to drop out because they could not finance their education anymore.
“That is really disheartening, especially to see bright, motivated young minds who can’t continue college because there is simply no money available for them to study, that’s the hardest part,” Brooks said.
Brooks finds passion for the job from his students and colleagues. At the age of 57, he said he is constantly engaged with new ideas, experiences and music from working with 18 to 22-year-olds, and coworkers who, challenge him every day to do his best.
In the face of budgeting issues as well, Brooks finds comfort in the student involvement with the music and band departments.
“The number of students we have participating in our ensembles, majoring or minoring in music, is at levels it has not been for the last 10 years or more,” said Brooks.
Some of Brooks’ most memorable experiences come from work with his students.
He says that over 25 years there are a lot of them, and that examples of students graduating from his department and then going into a small town without much of band program, who then change that for the area, are some of his favorites.
Other times include Brooks conducting his students on stage when, “The music is just so beautiful that I have to consciously pull myself back from tears.”
