Calvin Schmieg started band in the fifth grade, and it sparked a fire that never burned out. 

“I remember that being the only thing that I wanted to do,” Schmieg said. “After I started, I loved everything about playing in class and marching band and listening to music. I remember before band, I loved listening to music.”

Though, it wasn’t until he was student-teaching did Schmieg know he wanted to be a band director. Before student-teaching, he was a percussionist, assuming he would go on to be a professional percussionist somewhere.

But somewhere between all of the music-making with his students, Schmieg ignited a new spark, and it’s still burning, too. 

Schmieg is the new band director at Robert D. Campbell Jr. High, a position left vacant by the retirement of longtime educator Trish Torline.

“We’ve lived (in Winchester) for seven years,” Schmieg said. “I have two kids that are both headed to Shearer Elementary School. When I moved to Fayette County, the plan was to stay there. Then, when (Torline) said she was retiring, we did a lot of thinking and praying about it. It felt like the right thing to be right here.”

Schmieg said it was a good move as it’s nice to work in the community in which he lives. He also said he was already good friends with other band directors here.

“We had a shared vision,” Schmieg said. “That sealed the deal. Now the three of us working together, we could do something great with Clark County bands.”

Schmieg is headed into his 12th year teaching in total. He spent one-year teaching at the Academies of Bryan Station in Lexington where he was the associate band director.

Before Bryan Station, Schmieg was the band director at Montgomery County High School. His middle and high school bands consistently received distinguished ratings at district assessment. 

Schmieg said he holds onto his memories of Montgomery County dearly, as he spent the first 10 years of his career there, and there are a few moments that stick out to him to this day.

On March 23, 2017, Montgomery County lost a student to a car accident. The 16-year-old sophomore played the trumpet in band. Schmieg said he remembers that day clearly.

“The day shut down,” he said. “I was in the middle of teaching sixth-grade band, and the principal came and was like, ‘Hey, you need to go back to high school.’”

Schmieg recalled how inspiring it was to see the students come together to support one another.

“The jazz band had a performance that Saturday, so two days after the young girl died, we were like, ‘Should we do it? Should we not?’” Schmieg recalled. “The kids were like, ‘Well, yeah, we should go do it.’ So we went and did it anyway. And that was pretty cool … that was inspiring.”

Schmieg earned his bachelor’s degree in music education from Morehead State University as well as a master’s in music with an emphasis in conducting from the American Band College of Sam Houston State University. 

As a teacher and band director, Schmieg said his favorite part is watching students progress and develop not only as musicians but as people too.

“When I was a middle school director in Montgomery County … there was a class that I started as sixth graders, and they just graduated this past year,” Schmieg said. “So I had them from sixth grade through 11th grade. And my favorite thing was watching them go from being kids to young adults, first. Then, number two, seeing them go from beginning musicians kids that are playing in Lexington, Central Kentucky youth orchestras and even a couple of them are going to major in music now.”

Band, he said, is one of the best activities for youth. It’s a lot like a sport. Each member has to work together as a team and be excellent in their part. But unlike other team sports, no one sits the bench in band.

“If you can’t play your part, that affects everybody,” Schmieg said. “They’re learning teamwork. They’re learning how to push themselves and how to have perseverance. That’s usually the hardest part because kids want to get things right the first time, or the second or third time. So when it gets to be the fourth time, and they still can’t play the way they want to, it’s easy for them to want to give up. So teaching them that grit.”

Though with nearly 50 students in the classroom, it can be challenging to keep things on track, Schmieg said.

“The whole band is here at the same time,” he said. “You have 11 different instruments in the room. And then within each instrument, you have a whole range of ability levels. It’s like juggling, and riding a unicycle while the room is on fire.”

But Schmieg said he lives for the moments among the chaos, moments such as the time a year or so ago when a few of his students brought Schmieg a Build-a-Bear on a Disney trip. They created a custom woolly mammoth, adorned in a dapper tuxedo and glasses. Schmieg said those unexpected moments like that are special.

He also remains active as a musician by playing the drums with the praise band at Calvary Christian Church. Schmieg lives in Winchester with his wife, Chelsea, and children, Sophie and Brody. 

Schmieg said he is excited to get started in his first year at Campbell. His goal is to set a new precedent for excellence and to see all 41 of his eighth-grade students move on to high school band.

“If they do not want to do band in high school, I’m probably not doing my job,” Schmieg said.

Eventually, Schmieg said he would like to see Campbell perform at the Kentucky Music Educators Association state conference. Bands must submit recordings to apply to play, and the association only selects a handful of middle school bands. So, it’s a prestigious gig and an honor to perform at the state conference, Schmieg said.

The eighth-grade band will have its first public performance under Schmieg’s leadership during an eighth-grade football game on Sept. 12. Campbell bands will also perform during the annual Veterans Day event. 

Overall, Schmieg said he wants Campbell’s band program to be an integral part of the community.

“My goal is to serve Clark County,” he said. “Every student or teacher or parent that is involved should know that this is an organization for Winchester.”