By Sherry Larson
People’s Defender
Seated amongst a flurry of activity as The SpongeBob Musical performers practice blocking and running lines, Carl Schneider, Band Director at West Union High School, discusses his musical career beginnings with The People’s Defender.
Schneider is from upstate New York and completed his first two years of college in New York as an organ major. He said, “I thought I would make my living playing in huge churches like New York City. Then it hit me that people who get those jobs stay in those jobs for 50 or 60 years, so those jobs are hard to come by, and the organ started fading out.” He decided to switch to teaching. A professor recommended Mount Union College in Ohio, a smaller church-based school where he could learn marching band.
Forty one years ago, Carl Schneider began his career in Adams County, starting as the Choir Director in Manchester. His friend and fellow Mount Union College graduate, Roger Whitacre, was Band Director of West Union then and helped Schneider land a position in the Music Department.
Adding to his musical abilities, Schneider secured his Choir Director position with his capability to coach. He had additional jobs as the freshman and junior varsity boys’ basketball, cross country, and track coaches. He would later add golf to his coaching resume winning the golf Coach of the Year for the state of Ohio two years in a row. Nancy, Carl’s soon-to-be wife, joined him shortly after he was hired taking the Music Teacher position at Blue Creek.
Schneider and Whitacre decided West Union needed a marching band and began organizing for the 1983-84 school year. West Union did not have a football team, so the band would be a competition band without performing halftime shows. Schneider said that Whitacre opted to be the good cop as their teacher and asked Schneider to play the role of the bad cop and keep the band focused on marching drills. The marching band used the field behind Lafferty Funeral Home because they did not have a football field for practice.
After the first year of marching band, Whitacre resigned, leaving Schneider holding the reins. Schneider left Manchester and immediately began his Band Director position at West Union. He remembers Principal Phil Satterfield handing him $100 and saying, “By the way, you have practice tonight, and there’s no music,” instructing Schneider to go to the music store in Cincinnati and pick up music. Later that day, Satterfield announced to the band that Schneider would be their new director. He told the group he hired Schneider to put discipline into the band and said, “If you don’t like it, get up and get out now.” Schneider recalls two girls getting up and walking out. He said, “I had 13 kids left to start with.”
Schneider became the band’s leader that day in 1984. Nancy, who started in Blue Creek, spent a few years at North Adams High School as Choir Director, moving to West Union High School to team teach choir, and currently teaches music at West Union Elementary.
Through the years, the West Union Choir department struggled and Schneider crafted ideas to build up the department. The school hired student teacher Brian Meyer to teach band with Carl and brought in Nancy Schneider to teach choir with Carl. Schneider said, “All three of us team taught everything – that’s what we did for several years.” Once Schneider’s son became a sixth grader, Nancy resumed teaching elementary music. Team teaching ended, and the school hired a new Choir Director. Schneider and Assistant Meyer continued to lead the band.
During his career, Schneider was also responsible for writing a grant that awarded the school $150,000 to start a radio station which now includes an electronic music lab and recording studio.
Former Band Director Whitacre said, “I think it is why West Union has such a solid and successful performing arts department, choir, band, theater, and steel drums. They have indoor percussion that competes and color guard. It always comes down to who’s the leader, whether in sports, music, or business. Carl really has taken it to that level and kept it there.”
Schneider proudly shows the music rooms and studio at West Union High School. Although the marching band is no more, spaces like the guitar and piano lab have occupied residence and interest for students, teachers, and administration. Students can also learn to DJ and work with donated equipment like headlights and rear projectors. Schneider shared the students’ interest in creating a contemporary rock band. They will headline at the Freedom Festival before the fireworks and play a concert in Maysville on May 23.
The West Union High School radio station partners with C103, where Schneider serves as a color commentator for basketball. The recording studio is used for recording student auditions for college (especially useful during COVID) and recording CDs.
Schneider said that he has approximately 98 kids who graduated from West Union and pursued theater or music somehow. He listed the Stage Manager for the San Francisco Opera and Circus du Soleil, Maestro for a cruise ship, and students who went on to perform in Lion King, to name a few.
Dakota Nehus, Schneider’s son-in-law and former student, is now the Choir Director for West Union High School. Dakota’s mother, a West Union graduate, has two degrees in theater and is helping with the choreography in this year’s SpongeBob Musical. ACOVSD Board Member and former Schneider student Tiffany DeMint said, “To quote Mr. Holland’s Opus, ‘You love music, and you made the kids love it with you.’ It was much more than music with Mr. Schneider. It was life lessons he gifted us students with, even though we might not have realized it until much later in life.”
How did the musicals start? Schneider said, “The first years it was rough.” Carl and Nancy began musicals to build the choir when the choir was down to five. The first year they put on “Bye Bye Birdie,” and the second year, Schneider joined the cast so they could pull off “Music Man.” Schneider loved the musicals and continued directing.
One of the significant highlights of Schneider’s career was the first year the marching band made national finals in the fall of 1989. He said, “We made state finals in 1988 and national finals in 1989. We went for seven or eight years straight. The fall of 1996 was the last year for West Union’s marching band, as the new high school did not include a practice field.
The steel drums and musical center became the new focus of the band and choir, making it a Performing Arts Department. The goal was to give band, choir, and theater equal bidding. Schneider put a primary concentration into teaching middle schoolers to sing and choir classes how to read music. He said, “The plan was to rebuild the choir program – and that’s how we got this theater going.” The first show was in 1995. Since that time, West Union has performed multiple shows throughout the years. This year the musical is about the square, absorbent, and porous little guy who lives under the sea.
Other cherished memories include band camp and especially the music team’s creation of the Performing Arts Camp for grades 7-12. The camp involves steel drums, the theater troupe, the percussion program, the choir, and the color guard. The group then comes back home and performs what they have learned. Schneider now presents to other interested groups how to form a Performing Arts Camp as an option for Marching Band Camp.
He speaks fondly of his wife, Nancy and daughter Marci, who is married to Nehus and teaches fifth grade, coaches girls golf, is the advisor for the color guard, and is the choreographer for The SpongeBob Musical, and son Dean who works in the sports industry.
Schneider’s current role is Music Supervisor for the district. He is at Peebles three days a week and one day at North Adams High School. Schneider oversees this year’s musical, directed by Dakota Nehus, and Aaron VanPelt directs the pit orchestra. Schneider is instrumental in helping transition these gentlemen into leading the music department while he plans to retire. He seems eager to move forward with his pending departure and hopes to have grandkids someday soon. He said, “I can see another year and then being around to help and have fun.” He continued, “I’ll definitely miss the kids – that will be the hardest part. I tell them I’m the luckiest teacher in the school because I get the kids for eight years.”
Carl Schneider is a man of innovation. He takes who and what is available to work with and creates impressive performance art. How did Schneider stay successful for over 40 years working in the Arts in Adams County schools? He realized that after so many years, he would get burnt out. He knew when a switch was necessary. He said, “So, I made a change.” He encourages the new music leadership to think out of the box. “Music is changing. It won’t be band, choir, or theater as we’ve known it. Whoever is coming into education now must change with the times and see that the important thing is being creative.”
In June, West Union will celebrate a 40-year reunion of the marching band. Roger Whitacre will accompany Carl, Nancy, and former band members to commemorate the occasion. Schneider said, “I’ve been here long and seen the changes. I can never remember waking up in the morning and saying, ‘I don’t want to go to school.’ I love coming to school. And that’s why it’s hard to retire. I love the challenges.”