Band director honored by regional association

By Jennifer Lantz, Of the Reporter

One phone call can change a life for the better, which was the case for Nashua-Plainfield Junior High and High School band director Scott Stroud 19 years ago when he was offered a job with the school district.

The band program at Nashua-Plainfield has been recognized for its musical talent many times in Iowa, and now the man behind the program will be honored on Saturday.

The Northeast Iowa Bandmasters Association has named Stroud the 2018 Philip Sehmann Excellence in Teaching Award recipient for the high school level.

The three levels of the award cover elementary, middle school and high school. The award is given in memory of Phil Sehmann, who had a highly distinguished career as director of bands at Crestwood Community Schools.

“I received a phone call from the NEIBA president notifying me that I had been nominated by several band directors in our district and that the awards committee had chosen me as this year’s recipient for the high school award,” said Stroud.

Stroud won this award for his excellence, dedication and commitment to the value of instrumental music education in the Nashua-Plainfield Community School for the last 19 years.

He has worked with high school band students during his entire tenure at Nashua-Plainfield, and for the past nine years he has also directed the district’s junior high band program.

He began his career teaching band for three years at Corwith-Wesley/LuVerne before making his home at Nashua-Plainfield.

Teaching the junior high and high school band students is a hefty task since there are so many parts of the band program, including individual lessons for all his students, high school concert band, marching band, jazz band and pep band.

Stroud’s junior high concert band consistently receives superior ratings at the NEIBA Middle School Large Group Festival.

And the Nashua-Plainfield High School band program has a tradition of receiving Division I ratings at the IHSMA State Large Group Festival and State Marching Band Festival.

In the spring, the Nashua-Plainfield High School Concert Band auditioned and was selected as the Class 1A Performing Honor Band at the Iowa Bandmasters Association Conference.

In 2017, the Nashua-Plainfield 5-12 band program was the spotlight program in the winter edition of the Iowa Bandmasters Magazine.

“I am very honored to receive this award,” said Stroud. “It isn’t everyday you receive recognition like this from your peers. The NEIBA is filled with very talented directors and band programs, so it makes it feel even more special.”