This school year, Olentangy Berlin High School (OBHS) in Delaware, Ohio, opens its doors for the first time, and its new band plays its first notes. The school is the fourth high school in the growing Olentangy Local School District.
All of the students and new Director of Bands Michael Reeves, who previously worked at Fredericktown (Ohio) High School, are facing the challenges of simultaneously bringing previous experiences to the table and trying to forge a new path ahead. Reeves brings with him the high-step style of marching that he learned at his alma mater Ohio University in Athens, Ohio.
“The biggest thing I bring is the same general style of … Ohio University,” Reeves says. “That same style, that same energy, and those same expectations of performance level.”
This academic year, there will be no senior class at OBHS, so that students going into their senior year at other high schools in the district would not have to switch schools for only one year.
With about 45 members in the band, Reeves notes that this year will be a recruiting year to build the marching band’s reputation and foundations. For example, Reeves listened to dozens of fight songs as he was tasked with writing and arranging one for the school. Eventually, he settled on a fight song based on Butler University’s fight song. Reeves hopes that the foundations built now will get middle school students and other high school students excited about joining band.
