Houston marching band gets top honors in competitions

HOUSTON, Miss. (WCBI) – A band director at an area school district helped students bring home top honors as he got recognized for going above and beyond his duties.

Ben Clark wanted to try out for the band at Houston High School, but he figured it was too late as he entered his junior year.

After talking with band director Eric Malone, Clark got to work, learning to read sheet music and being pushed hard by Malone.

“I worked all the way up from pit percussion to snare drum in one year,” said Clark.

The high school senior had the highest score of his graduating class on the ACT and was named “STAR Student.”

As Star Student, Clark was asked to name a “STAR Teacher” and his band director was at the top of the list.

“I thought Mr. Malone, nobody works harder than him, he stays here after hours, he pushed us to be better than we need to be,” said Clark.

Under his leadership, the marching band received “all superior” ratings at every competition this spring.

It is the first time in 11 years that the Topper Pride Band has brought home top honors.

“That was a goal we were hoping to achieve this year, but the goal is useless if you don’t put in the work every day, the goal won’t happen,” said Malone.

Mr. Malone would like to see the concert band get top ratings, in fact, he has issued that challenge.

He said it is possible with a lot of dedication and hard work.

“A lot of people know about marching, but they don’t know about the concert world, we’re still going in the spring, we’re not practicing for marching band all year long,” said Malone.

Malone said the band’s success proves that motivation, perspiration and inspiration are as important as funding, or other factors.

“We are in a smaller district, so funding is always something we long for, but even in a bigger district, they will always still say they don’t have enough money, you never have enough money to do what you want to do, especially in our profession, but that can’t be a reason you limit your band program,” said Malone.

Malone is in his third year as band director.

He looks forward to many more years, helping young people focus on and strive for success.

Malone is also a math major, so he can often be found assisting students with math in between band classes.