Southwest Mississippi Community College has a new band director whose last name is Whittington, but his first name isn’t Shelton.
Clay Whittington will become the college’s new band director beginning in July, replacing Andrew Dale.
And no, he’s no relation to longtime college stage band director Shelton Whittington.
Whittington, a former band director for the college, left years ago for the Brookhaven School District and is returning Southwest about decade later.
“It offered me a great opportunity to come back to Southwest and be band director and a part of Pike County,” he said, adding that his family already attends church in Summit and he’s happy to be closer.
While Whittington’s contract doesn’t begin until July, he said he’s anxious to get started.
“There’s a lot to be done and it can’t wait until July 1,” he said. “The band has potential to be great and for people to be proud of, and that’s something I look forward being a part of.”
Whittington said he’s working on recruiting students and finalizing their plans to audition.
“I think one of the keys to increasing the projectory is to have a quality program,” he said. “When you have a quality program, students want to be a part of that.”
A scholarship application was added for students to help increase the attractiveness of the band.
Due to the added scholarships for band members, Whittington is optimistic about increasing the numbers.
“We have a scholarship application now, and that added about 20 students,” he said.
Students eligible for full scholarships perform in both the concert band in the spring and marching band in the fall.
Members of the small ensemble may receive additional money, Whittington said.
He mentioned a separate ensemble debuting for the first time next spring that will offer scholarship funds.
“I like to see the band grow. I take it as a challenge to get the numbers up and improve the quality, and that’s what I want to do over the next several years,” Whittington said, adding he expects at least 86 members for the percussion, ensemble, Red Line dancers and dance line in the fall.
“I want to see students around the school notice what we’re doing and that it’s worthwhile and excellent, and want to be a part of these programs,” he said. “I want it to be seen as a first-rate Fine Arts program.”
Among his plans to add members to the program, Whittington would also like to provide more opportunities for students to perform, he said.
“I want to give the students a lot of opportunities to share their talents with the community.”
College president Dr. Steve Bishop said he is pleased to have Whittington back.
“He is a proven educator who has a passion for his students and the profession as a whole,” he said, adding that Whittington is widely known throughout Mississippi for his leadership abilities in music.
“He knows our mission here at Southwest and will build on the success that we have enjoyed recently and in the past,” Bishop said.
Bishop said due to Whittington’s recruitment abilities, he expects a high turn out of both local and out-of-county students.
Whittington said the community alike can expect to see a performance based on pop-style songs ranging from the 1980s to today.
“Our crowds hear it on Thursday nights and the students hear it every day, so you want to pick something they’re not going to get tired of quickly,” he said.
