The Jackson Jaguar Marching Band, which has performed at events around the nation for decades, plays for its fans on Oct. 30 at Jackson Memorial High School. PHOTOS BY REBECCA NOWALSKI While he stood at the head of the Jackson Jaguar Marching Band, band director Harold “Bud” McCormick needed no reminder of the importance of the final home football game of the 2015 season at Jackson Memorial High School in Jackson.
McCormick, 61, has spent decades leading students through hundreds of halftime performances, with the meticulous choreography and musicianship for which the Jaguar band is known.
And while it all came naturally to McCormick, the evening of Oct. 30 set the stage for a turning point in his career — McCormick will retire on Feb. 1, 2016, following a 37-year career as a music educator and band director.
“You know, I’ve been a band director here since Jackson had just one high school,” he said. “It’s been a great ride.”
Bud McCormick, the band director of the Jackson Jaguar Marching Band, enjoys a performance by the band at a Jackson Memorial High School football game in Jackson on Oct. 30. McCormick has announced that he will retire on Feb. 1, 2016. During a “Showcase of Champions” marching band competition on Oct. 25, Jackson Band Parent Association President Roy Young spoke about McCormick’s career.
“Teamwork, dedication, discipline and hard work are life lessons that Bud McCormick teaches through band, but in many ways, they translate to other aspects of his students’ lives,” Young said.
McCormick said he was touched by the response he received to the news he will be retiring. He said the time is right.
“Now that I have been doing this for 37 years, I just felt it was time to hand my baton over to somebody a lot younger,” he said. “It’s a big job. When you have 230 kids, that means you have almost 500 parents … it’s a big responsibility.”
McCormick has shared his love of music with young people since 1979. He began his career as a teacher at Abraham Clark High School in Roselle Park, followed by a stint at Red Bank Catholic High School before he arrived at Jackson Memorial in 1983.
Looking back on his tenure at Jackson Memorial, McCormick said he is proud of the unique experiences he and his students have participated in over the years.
The Jaguars have performed at the 50th anniversary D-Day ceremony in Normandy, France; at four ticker-tape parades in New York City (three for the Yankees, one for the Giants); at the presidential inauguration parades for George W. Bush and Barack Obama; at the re-dedication ceremony for Battery Park after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks; and at the Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena, Calif. The band has been invited to perform at this year’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in Philadelphia.
“We are getting invites all the time to do special concerts and events and it is all because the kids work together, the administration works together and the parents work together,” McCormick said. “It’s not a one-man operation.”
In 2013, McCormick was inducted into the National High School Band Directors Hall of Fame. Earlier this year he was selected as the northeast governor of the High School Band Directors National Association.
McCormick said his greatest reward as an educator has been to see his students excel after graduating from the district.
“It has been great to see that many of our students have gone on to become music educators themselves,” he said. “There are a lot of Jackson alumni with marching band programs of their own throughout the state.”
McCormick said he is looking forward to spending time with his wife, Patty, and children, Tim, Harold, Caroline and Cecilia.
He said he hopes to continue working with music in some capacity when he is not dabbling in photography.
“While I love designing marching band drills, I love arranging music, so hopefully somebody might hire me to write their marching band shows for them,” he said.
McCormick said he wants to thank the members of the community who made his career memorable.
“Thank you for always being so supportive of me and our band program,” he said. “While music budgets are being cut throughout the state, our band program has continued to grow.”