Settling In – An Interview With Our New Band Director

New school years bring back many old and familiar faces, as well as some new. Amongst those is Joshua Pauly, Hanover High’s new band director. Formally the director of band at Essex High in Vermont, Pauly replaces Norman Wolfe in his new position at Hanover High School.

Pauly first began music at the age of eleven, with the trumpet being his weapon of choice. Playing from then on, music was always a priority for Pauly. “Essentially I did every single choral and band ‘thing’ available to me from sixth grade through college,” says Pauly. And by everything, he means everything, including 7:00 AM rehearsals and evening practices 3-4 times a week.

Teaching music, however, was not always so obvious. Originally set on history, Pauly

was one credit shy of a history major when he realized music was his true calling. Even then, Pauly wasn’t initially keen on teaching, choosing instead to favor performance. His performance career included playing backup to swing style jazz group Five by Design.

Eventually, though, Pauly’s passion for working with kids won out and he became a band director. Now at his second position here in Hanover, Pauly couldn’t be more excited: “I love this area. It has a great music scene and there are so many fantastic resources Dartmouth has to offer!” In addition to the music culture, Pauly hopes to take advantage of the Upper Valley’s vast expanse of wilderness, citing hiking, camping, and mountain biking as favorite hobbies oh his.

When asked what he is looking forward to in the upcoming year, Pauly responds: “Just building connections with the students. There’s a lot of potential in the band program here and the students have a lot to offer.”

With one quarter down and three more still to go, there’s plenty of time for that to happen. At any rate, Pauly promises to become a familiar face here at Hanover High.