McIntosh High

School's marching band was instructed to remember

three things in preparation for this week's band

camp - have a thermos for water, remember to

bring a hat and, please, no Alabama jokes.

Barbara Baker, who

took over directorship of the school's band this

year, is a woman brimming with ideas and a plan

to make them happen. She also happens to be an

Alabama native. For six days, she will drill her

116 band members on the campus of her alma mater,

Jacksonville State University, for the upcoming

football halftime show at McIntosh.

"Look at the

band this year; you'll be in for an exciting

performance," Baker said Sunday prior to

leaving for camp. "I'm really excited about

it, and the kids are also," she added,

describing the music and theme for this year's

show.

"Most of the

music comes from Bette Midler's movie, "For

the Boys." It's set around three wars and

we're doing a lot of the WWII swing and big band

music," she explained. Some costuming also

will be added for a touch of authenticity. Baker

expects her band to get comfortable with a core

collection of songs this week, with mastery

expected within six to eight weeks. "As the

season goes on, we'll change certain things, and

add things," she said, noting her desire to

keep things interesting.

For rookie band

members faced with learning to position their

instruments, march and play simultaneously, Baker

has assured them that in time, "It's second

nature." "It all becomes one process

instead of three separate activities," she

said. Baker makes her job look easy, calmly

taking on three bands and three major

performances a year.

Maybe her even tone

comes with experience. This is Baker's third year

in the Fayette County school system. During her

first year, she worked with the elementary school

bands, and assisted at McIntosh and Booth Middle

School. The following year, she divided her time

among four schools including McIntosh, and took

over the top job this spring.

Prior to coming to

Fayette County, she worked in Alabama schools and

schools in Cobb County. Baker claims her desire

to major in music education was purely natural.

"It's something that felt right. Music is

something I've always been good at and felt

comfortable with," she explained.

Surprisingly, her

family is not musically inclined. "My sister

took piano lessons just long enough for my

parents to go out and buy a piano and get upset

when she quit," Baker joked. "I was the

odd ball in the family. I'd practice six hours a

night and my parents would be saying, "Is

she ever going to stop?'" she laughed.

Baker's area of

expertise is the clarinet, but she can also

handle the saxophone, violin and a variety of

other instruments. "And I love to sing.

People may not love to hear me, but I'm a good

blender," she said.

With a demanding

rehearsal schedule, and football season ahead,

not to mention Christmas concerts and band

festivals following close behind, Baker admits

that having a life outside of school and band can

be a challenge. She recalled how she went out for

pizza with friends, also band directors, last

weekend, only to end up sketching diagrams of

marching patterns on a paper napkin. "We

tried not to talk about band, but we gave up

after five minutes," she said.

Baker is pleased to

have 116 members marching this year, but would

like to see more students join the ranks. There

were approximately twice that number marching

when she arrived in the county. Baker claims that

part of the drop is due to the opening of Starr's

Mill High School. She believes the other reason

is students' hesitancy to take on the commitment

of band when they are also faced with balancing a

heavy academic load in order to meet the new

Georgia high school graduation requirements.

With funding based

on the number of students enrolled in the

school's band program, running a top notch

program when numbers are down makes budgeting

even more challenging, Baker admitted. A large

share of money funneled into the program comes

from band booster fund-raising activities.

Transporting the

band to and from games and performances takes up

a significant piece of change. Baker would like

to see all bands in the county on an equitable

playing field, a feat she believes may result

from passage of the sales tax/bond package

proposed by the school board.

Personally, Baker

said her goal of teaching music in the elementary

grades through high school has been met. "I

thought I'd like to teach on the college level,

but right now, I'm getting pretty happy... we'll

see, this might be it."