Friday evenings in the fall, over the past 30 years, have been prime time for Chuck Deen and hundreds of his young neighbors in local high schools.
North Augusta High School’s band director is now leading a charge to present “Mo at Night” – a show that blends the creations of Mozart and Motown – and looking forward to a season with competitions and fewer obstacles than he faced in 2020, when COVID-19 regulations shut down many of the marching band’s traditional activities.
North Augusta has major new resources in its favor: a practice field that went into service for the first time Aug. 30, along with an observation tower. Deen’s band room is also in its first few months of operations, as part of a massive years-long renovation/expansion project.
“The kids are hungry to get back to what they had,” Deen said, acknowledging huge adjustments during the past 18 months, with COVID-19 precautions and regulations at every turn. He has 125 students on board so far this season.
Deen, a University of South Carolina graduate whose personal musical experience is with percussion and tenor saxophone, is wearing a fairly new hat this season, as president of the S.C. Band Directors Association.
Band director Chuck Deen, top right, and assistant directors Kaleb Hayes (left) and Sammie Newcomb watch marching band members practice from atop a brand-new observation tower.
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