There is a new face for the Pride of Tallassee High School Marching Band.
Zach Smith will take the baton after the retirement of Dr. Robby Glasscock. Smith was hired in April and learned all things Tallassee, but not that he needed much help.
“It’s been a refreshing feeling,” Smith said. “My wife Brittney went to school here.”
Brittney was in the Pride of Tallassee, first marching a barisaxophone and then moving to the colorguard. Zach went to Wetumpka and then to Troy University where he was part of the band.
It was Glasscock who helped Smith find his first band director’s job.
“He called me to band practice in the summer saying he needed to tell me something,” Smith said. “He let me know that there was an opening at Dadeville in the middle of band camp.”
Before coming to Tallassee, Smith was the band director at Millbrook Middle School and assistant at Stanhope Elmore High School. He saw the opportunity when Glasscock announced his retirement and applied to Tallasssee.
Smith and his wife made the move to Tallassee. They are renovating an old home and are involved in a local church already.
Smith said he believes Tallassee is a good fit for everyone.
“The kids have known since last fall that Dr. G was going to retire,” Smith said. “They have had time to prepare. They were looking forward to see who the new person was. With me coming on board in April, it gives some time for transition.”
Smith said a few things will change such as a return to two weekly outdoor practices during marching season. He’s also let students see the show he has designed for the fall.
“I have some ideas that I'm hoping they're looking forward to,” Smith said. “The theme is for the show Through the Storm.”
It starts off with Singing in the Rain and then goes to Rihanna’s Umbrella. Thunder by Magic Dragons is next followed by Luke Combs’ Ain’t no love in Oklahoma. The show closes with I can see Clearly Now and Let the Sun Shine In.
Smith said there is a lesson in the show and him coming to Tallassee.
“It's literally going through the storm,” Smith said. “There’s thunder, rain, tornadoes. We're going to talk about with them that you know in life, you're always going to have storms to come up. So they're in the storm right now, figuratively, because Dr. G has left and you're granting a new director. That's a tough transition. Even though it gets rough, the sun shines in the end.”
