The Bayfield School District is proud to announce that Bayfield High School Band Director Derek Smith has been accepted into membership in the American School Band Directors Association (ASBDA), a national organization dedicated to excellence in music education.
According to the ASBDA, membership is by nomination only and requires sponsorship from a current member. Potential members must demonstrate exceptional experience, strong moral character, and outstanding musicianship.
“The standards are high,” the association wrote in its notification letter to the district, “and your district is to be recognized for the excellent work that your band director has exemplified.”
Smith said he feels honored to be nominated and accepted into the ASBDA, noting that some of the band directors he admires most are members of the organization.
“To be recognized by those outstanding educators is a highlight of my career,” he said.
He credited the students, colleagues, and community of Bayfield for the program’s success.
“I believe that I work with the best students in the school,” Smith said. “I simply point them in a direction, ask them to do a thing, and they do the hard work. I just have to wave a stick at them. They are silly yet professional, demanding yet kind, and vulnerable yet strong. I get paid to make music with these great kids, so I truly have the best job in the world.”
Smith added that he is deeply committed to Bayfield despite occasional suggestions from fellow directors to move on.
“When those directors I admire ask me, ‘When will you come to the big city, teach at a ‘real’ school?’ I have to correct them. These students, this staff, this community and this beautiful facility make this not just a ‘real’ school, it is the best school,” he stated.
He expressed gratitude to his students for their dedication, to his colleagues — including Rachel Phelps, Tessa Harrmann, John Patton, Eric Stramel, Tanya Young, and Lech Usinowicz — for their collaboration, and to his family for their constant support.
“Thank you to my family, Kristi, and my kids Kamala and Liam, and Dru for everything they’ve done and given me over the years,” he said.
Finally, Smith dedicated the honor to his father, Norman Smith, who taught band and choir for more than 30 years in Montrose and Delta and inspired him to pursue a career in music education.
“If I could be half the Band and Choir Director he is, I would be twice the Director I am,” he said.
“I’m honored for the recognition,” Smith said. “I really could not have done it without our great music staff here in Bayfield.”