Sandy Southland: Professional sand sculptor creates masterpiece in Houma
August 11, 2015Lafourche Parish elderly, disabled being provided fans
August 11, 2015
Glynn Dagenhardt’s wife once told him that when he was on stage and his father was in the audience his father cried through the whole performance.
Dagenhardt said he knows it’s because he’s become what his father wanted to be, a band director. Dagenhardt, who was recently inducted into the Louisiana Music Educators Association’s District VII Hall of Fame, said the road to his position as band director at Houma Junior High School was full of twists and turns.
“When I first got to Nicholls, I was a geology major, then accounting, then general studies, then I just dropped out,” he said, even though he was a member of the University’s marching band. Years would pass before Dagenhardt would return to Nicholls, to graduate cum laude. In between, he went to jewelry school, and for 10 years, he worked at a jewelry store in Houma, mainly repairing watches until it hit him that he should return to school and major in music. He also once owned a tuxedo store.
Even through the years away from school, “I always had my music,” the trumpet player said.
He has spent his entire career as band director at Houma Junior High, and he said, even if they get to be a hundred years old, all members of the band will always be “his children.” Seeing the students progress, and move up to the Terrebonne High Band, “is wonderful,” he said. Houma Junior High is the only feeder school for Terrebonne High, and HJH is one of the few remaining junior highs in the state with 9th grade students.
Being inducted into the Hall of Fame is one of his greatest honors, Dagenhardt said, because it means his peers have recognized his work. “They’re the ones who think you’re good enough.”
“When I was in band, I sat last chair, from grades six to 11, last chair, until I got to South Terrebonne, when the band director put me in the jazz band. After that I went to third chair in the 11th grade and finally sat first chair in the 12th. Look at me now, who would have ever thought?”
Dagenhardt graduated from Nicholls in 1990 about 16 years after he had finished high school. Twice he was named as the University’s most outstanding instrumental music major, where he says his trumpet instructor, Anthony Waguespack, was inspirational and over the years, they’ve remained in touch. Dagehardt’s parents were also musicians who played in the Terrebonne High band in the 1930s.
On a day-to-day basis, at Houma Junior High, he is responsible for three bands, the marching band, the concert band and the symphonic band. In his 25-year career, Dagenhardt has received many awards and honors, including being named Terrebonne Parish’s teacher of the year three times, LMEA District VII Band Director of the Year twice, and Band Master of the Year by the Louisiana Bandmaster’s Association. Over the years, his three bands have earned 37 district festival sweepstakes and 18 state festival sweepstakes. Houma Junior High’s color guard has also earned awards, he said, thanks to Tiki Simmons, even though they’ve only been competing on the winter guard circuit for about five years. “I like bragging on them,” he said.
“They’ve won grand champion in the cadet class every year.” Members of the color guard also play instruments, he said, but they like doing “dangerous stuff” with flags, rifles and sabers.
Even though he three years from retirement, Dagenhardt said he intends to go out strong, doing what he’s been doing. “It wouldn’t be fair to the kids,” he said.
Darryl Barrios, whose three children were members of the Houma Junior High marching band, said, “Mr. Dagenhardt’s primary love is concert band, and he passed that love of concert music on to all three of my kids.” Dylan Barrios marched last year with the band at the University of Southern Mississippi and Jenny Barrios is in her first year in the band at Terrebonne High. Kathy Barrios is heading to Natchitoches to the Louisiana School for the Math, Science and the Arts.
“While they all enjoyed participating in the marching band program at HJH,” Barrios said, “all three of them would tell you that their primary love is performing with the concert ensembles.”
Away from school, Dagenhardt is busy co-conducting and playing with the Bayou Community Band in Thibodaux and the South Louisiana Community Orchestra. Co-conducting means that he alternates playing and conducting, and in the community orchestra he plays string bass.
And, he’s widely sought out for community events as a trumpeter; and volunteered his services to play Taps at the military burial for the father of Philip Martin, the superintendent of Terrebonne Parish Schools.
“He’s a tremendously talented guy,” Martin said.
Glynn Dagenhardt poses in front of some of the collectables he’s gathered in his office. The local was recently inducted into the Louisiana Music Educators Association’s District VII Hall of Fame.
