Hudson High School’s band has earned a strong name for itself as a top high school music group. Notorious for their “Loud is Good” slogan, the band has always performed for an excited crowd. The responsibility of keeping our band at the top falls on the band director, who is different this year than in years prior. Will the new band director, Mrs. Katharine Reed, live up to the band’s legacy? Anyone who has met her, student or staff, knows that she most definitely can, and will surely leave behind a legacy of her own.
Mrs. Reed was born and raised in Iowa and was practically brought up by band music. “I’m actually a fourth-generation band director. My grandfather was a little bit of a godfather of band in Iowa. I grew up with circus bands, military bands, community bands and Shriner bands,” Reed shares.
Reed received her undergraduate degree in music education from Iowa State University and recently received her Master’s in wind conducting from the University of Akron. As an adult, she has moved around the country, taking part in various music opportunities. “I started teaching in Iowa at the age of 22. I was the director of bands at a pretty small, medium-sized school in Iowa. And then I met my husband, playing the trumpet! We decided to make the change to move together and get married. We moved down to Alabama, and I started working on my Master’s in music education. It was then that a phenomenal opportunity popped up for both of us. We had two jobs that opened up for us in Durango, Colorado.”
In Colorado, Reed became the director of instrumental music at a local high school. Through her hard work and dedication to the students at this school, she was able to leave the position better than she found it. “I applied (to the school) and became the director of instrumental music in Durango, Colorado where I taught orchestra and band for eight years. I was able to build the program from 12 kids in the band to 120 by the time I left. Then the orchestra program really boomed. I had 17 kids in the orchestra (originally) and by the end, we were at 75 to 80 with a full-time orchestra teacher and me just focusing on the band.”
When it was time to hit the road again, Reed and her family packed up for Ohio, where her husband had found a new job. When the Reed household moved to Stow in 2019, many knew of her future plans. “It started going around that I would be looking for a job in three years and the Hudson name came up multiple times because they knew that Mrs. O’Connor was going to be retiring. From the first time I heard that, I just started researching and listening to the band, and I was blown away. Then, there was another person at the University of Akron who had mentioned the first time he had heard the Hudson band. He was also blown away and had many goosebumps stories to share about them. That’s what really sold me about the group.”
After Reed accepted the position, she was able to visit Mrs. O’Connor at the school and see the band perform in person for the first time. She says that Mrs. O’Connor “has just been wonderful with helping out with anything I need.” While many students will miss and appreciate the previous band director, Mrs. O’Connor’s spirit lives on through Mrs. Reed.
Reed plans to stick with the “tradition and excellence” that Hudson’s band is known for, though that doesn’t mean she’s not prepared with new ideas. “I would love to have some smaller chamber band groups, more percussion ensembles, more brass groups, more woodwinds,” Reed says. She hopes that by adding more activities and opportunities to the group, more students in the band will have a chance to connect and bond over music. Reed also has other special plans for later in the school year, but those will be revealed to her students as springtime comes closer.
Many times Reed mentioned how special the students are to her and how they are her favorite part of being a teacher. She claims they have “much pride and dedication,” that they “achieved the goals set in place and then some,” and that “they are fabulous!”
Not only does Reed love the students, but the students also love her. Sam Farabee, a junior in Hudson High’s band program, likes Mrs. Reed because, “Not only is she an enthusiastic person while conducting, she also makes us feel like we can do anything. She is altogether a really nice person to talk to who you can just be chill around.” Pax Landess, another Junior, has similar feelings toward her. “Mrs. Reed is just a lovely human being. She is so encouraging and energetic. She loves to just joke around with the students, but we still respect her like a mentor.” When asked about their band teacher, many students, including Josh Carter and Timmy Dowling, both freshmen, described her as “wicked awesome.” This phrase was used repeatedly to describe her and is fitting for an amazing teacher like Reed.
Being a band teacher is no easy task. From managing all the scheduled events to entertaining the students in the room, it can be a lot to handle. Reed is one of the few people courageous enough to take on the challenge, and so far it has only gone in the right direction. Many have supported this journey for her and she believes that the overall community has “had very open arms with having a new director come in.” She has the support of every student, parent, and staff member involved in the band, and everyone is very excited to see what she accomplishes alongside Hudson High School’s band.
