Shawn Hagood
After a brief hiatus due to technical difficulties, we are back with another Gateway Band Featured Alumnus! Introducing Shawn Hagood from the class of 2004!
Section:
Drumline – Snare and Bass
What other activities were you a part of in high school?
Gateway Track & Field, Gateway Winter Percussion, AV Club, Stage Crew, Math Club, A.I.M., Wind Ensemble, Orchestra, Symphonic Band, Percussion Ensemble, Jazz Band, Honor Choir, Community Service Club, Peer Mediators, Youth Choir at Church (keyboardist)
After graduation, did you attend college:
Yes. I studied Music Education at IUP (Indiana, PA) and then transferred to Florida Atlantic University (Boca Raton, FL) and earned my Bachelor of Music Performance degree (Percussion).
Current Occupation:
Touring Musician (Keyboardist for The Dirty Heads since 2012) & Music Charity Funding Director (Keeping the Blues Alive)
What was your biggest reason or influence to join the band?
I wanted to go to Disney with my friends Ben Pyles & Vince Wallace and I heard that the band traveled to rival schools competed. I joined the drumline because it was fun, I was proficient at reading music, and my friends wouldn’t stop raving about it. It changed my life forever. I’m eternally grateful.
What are your favorite band memories?
I have many great memories of Gateway High School Marching Band. Our drumline staff had marched at respectable universities and drum corps so they always motivated us with their skills and anecdotes during sectionals. We loved rehearsing and proving ourselves in front of our band director and drum staff. The bus rides to competitions were always fun, I enjoyed the camaraderie with my drum mates, and we were like a family. Winning High Percussion was our ultimate goal at every show and we battled with Kiski and Norwin every chance we got. The combined drumline chop outs during football games were so awesome.
What advice would you give to current members of our ensemble?
I would advise current members to think beyond high school, now, while you’re still a teenager and can set your goals as high as possible! Music and professionalism can propel your career to heights you have never imagined before. Take pride in your marching band; It does not exist without YOU. YOU are important. YOU are the ones carrying on the tradition. If you let the band traditions blow away with the winds of change, future generations of band kids will never remember what it was really like. YOU are the pride and joy of Gateway. Never lose that sense of responsibility and pride. Never.
For what reason would you urge a young student to join the marching band?
Music is a universal language. It opens doors to travel, new friends, life experiences, teaches discipline in a fun way, and so much more. If you have ever wanted to learn an instrument, learn the instrument through the eyes and ears of the seasoned staff at Gateway. No other program in Western Pennsylvania has a rich history of successful musicians like Gateway High School. Even if you decide to switch instruments after a year or two, you’re better off learning from Gateway Marching Band’s staff than any other local instructor in Monroeville or surrounding areas. Period.
How has being an alum of the program at Gateway High School affected your life after high school?
When I entered IUP as a freshman, other colleagues knew where I was from. They knew the reputation that preceded me and they treated me with respect. In order to KEEP their respect, I practiced harder than my peers so I would represent my town of Monroeville. Because Mr. Read and Gateway Marching Band staff upheld a solid tradition of excellence, I took those principles and applied them to my lessons and performances at IUP. Beyond college, I have come to learn that the multicultural environment of Gateway prepared me for the encounters I would have with other ethnicities in my professional career. Gateway students were diverse; I was friends with Sikh Indians, Caucasian kids, Black kids, Spanish kids, Hindus, Jewish, the disabled – I knew how to relate to literally everyone. That experience is special. Other high schools are not as diverse.
