THE EAU GALLIE HIGH SCHOOL BAND PROGRAM
The Eau Gallie High School Band, under the direction of Thomas Singletary, Laura Singletary, and Veronica Curran, consists of three concert bands, two jazz bands, four percussion ensembles, many student-led ensembles, and the 175-member Marching Commodores. Eau Gallie band students rank near the top of their class and have earned Valedictorian awards for many years. The school’s band, chorus, and drama students perform a full Broadway musical each spring. The Eau Gallie Music Department is recognized by the Florida Department of Education as a "Music Demonstration School."
Our school is located on Florida's east coast in the city of Melbourne , about 60 miles east of Orlando and 30 miles south of the Kennedy Space Center. The band program at Johnson Middle School, also under the direction of Mr. and Mrs. Singletary and Ms. Curran, keeps the Eau Gallie Band thriving. Because the two programs share teachers, the Eau Gallie and Johnson Band Programs are considered a “six-year” program of study. Eau Gallie High School serves as host for the Central Florida Middle School Jazz Workshop, designed especially for middle school musicians who are learning about jazz style during their first, second, or third year in band. The workshop clinicians are nationally-renowned jazz educators who have shown great commitment to jazz education at the middle school level.
The directors believe that listening to quality music is critical to the success of a music program. Since 1997, students in the Eau Gallie Band Program have enjoyed live performances by the US Army Jazz Ambassadors, University of Central Florida Faculty Woodwind Quintet, The Florida State University Symphonic Band, The Florida State University Faculty Brass Quintet, The Florida State University Symphony Orchestra, The Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, The American Brass Quintet, The Canadian Brass, The United States Marine Band "President's Own," "Blast!," the world's top 12 drum and bugle corps, The Glenn Miller Orchestra, The US Air Force Jazz Band "Airmen of Note," and The Kremlin Chamber Orchestra.
The Eau Gallie Symphonic Band has been awarded superior ratings at many district and regional music festivals. Band members are consistently included in regional honors ensembles including the Florida All-State Band, the Brevard All-County Band, and the Tri-State Honors Band at Florida State University. Our students are committed to musical excellence through their performances at District Concert and Marching Band Festivals, Solo and Ensemble Festival, Jazz Band Festival, an annual Fall Concert, our annual PRISM Concert and Spring Concert, and many other performance opportunities. In 2004, the Symphonic Band won the Festival Honor Award at the National Adjudicators Invitational in Washington, D.C. In 2006, the Eau Gallie Symphonic Band participated in the Grand National Adjudicators Invitational Festival in Chattanooga, Tennessee, where they performed Moussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition, a 33-minute programmatic suite which interprets a walk through an artists' gallery. The 2006 Symphonic Band tour also included performances at Valdosta State University, Florida Bandmasters State Festival, and the University of Florida's Band Invitational.
In the past four years, our fine arts department has presented the Broadway productions West Side Story, Seussical, Pippin and Damn Yankees. Our Band, Choral and Drama departments have joined together each spring for many years to produce other outstanding Broadway productions, including The Pirates of Penzance, My Fair Lady, Oklahoma, The Wiz, Grease, The Music Man, Anything Goes, and others. We are truly blessed to have a state-of-the-art fine arts auditorium in which to perform. Completed in 1996, the facility seats 700 and features full lighting and sound capabilities, a fully automatic orchestra pit, large dressing rooms, a classroom, and a scene shop. The auditorium is used by many school and community groups in our area.