Area high school students who participated in band or orchestra have a new educational opportunity available to them at Missouri State University-West Plains (MSU-WP).

The university will begin offering instrumental music classes this fall, as well as a jazz band and community concert band.

“In my eight years at the university, I have been approached countless times about why we didn’t offer a music program, especially with the great local high school programs in this area and the outstanding music program at Missouri State University in Springfield,” said Dr. Michael Orf, vice chancellor of academic affairs at MSU-WP. “The opportunity to offer a program here finally presented itself and the pieces fell into place.”

The courses MSU-WP will offer will create a music pathway within the Associate of Arts in General Studies degree that could lead to a Bachelor of Arts in Music at a four-year college or university, Orf said. “That doesn’t mean students can’t take courses to meet some requirements of other music degrees, but that is not the current focus,” he added.

Familiar name will lead the program

University officials have tapped Rocky Long to lead the program. Long just completed his 20th year as director of bands for the West Plains R-7 School District and his 24th year teaching band. He is retiring from the district on July 1.

Long said he is excited to join MSU-WP on this new venture. “From my perspective as a high school band director, students were graduating and then there was nowhere for them to go in terms of music. No band or choir programs exist in our area. Students must move away and attend a four-year university where the music program is already established, which is not practical for most students. We needed a program here at MSU-WP for our students to join.”

MSU-WP’s program also will provide some much needed support for area high school music programs, Long said. “There is so much need for a university program in this area to assist in building and growing these high school programs and providing quality professional development opportunities to the local music teachers while keeping students playing and singing after they graduate high school,” he explained. “I foresee building a comprehensive program with instrumental music, vocal music and I could potentially see the opportunity to add drama and theater, as well, in the future.”

Right now, the focus of MSU-WP’s program will be on instrumental music, Long said. “The community concert band will be available for MSU-WP students to take as a class for credit and other community members and area musicians to play in for non-credit,” he said.

“The jazz band will most likely begin as a program for MSU-WP students only with the hopes of adding a community jazz band down the road,” he added. “We also will have a pep band for many of the Grizzly Basketball games, as well. This will be a fun time for our students to play frequently for our local crowd while supporting our team.”

Growing the program

In addition to teaching the classes, Long expects to be visiting area high schools about this new opportunity to help grow the program. “I will be doing regular visits to area high school music programs to work with those students and invite them to join us at MSU-WP,” he said.

“We will have a robust presence on campus and will seek out individuals with playing experience to join the group,” he added. “There will be a lot of opportunities to perform. I think the campus and local communities will respond very favorably to having a university level performance opportunity close to home.

“I’m very excited about all the opportunities we are going to open for the campus and surrounding communities,” Long added. “The addition of a music program at MSU-WP is going to add so much to the culture and climate of the school. We’ll be involved in many events hosted on campus by enhancing and supporting with music.

“These ensembles will be a huge recruiting opportunity for MSU-WP, not just for music, but for every program on our campus. The goal is to get students to continue playing after high school, involve community members, and inject MSU-WP students into an exciting opportunity for West Plains,” Long said.

More about Long

During Long’s tenure at West Plains, the Zizzer band program attained a reputation for superior musicianship and performances receiving first division ratings every year. In December 2011 Long was named as one of “Fifty Directors Who Make a Difference” by the national music publication School Band & Orchestra which selects one music director from each state for the annual publication.

In addition to his teaching duties at West Plains, Long has served as the district president for the South Central Missouri Music Educators Association and as the band vice president coordinating district band events. As district president Long oversaw all district level events for both high school and junior high school music areas including concert bands, jazz bands, choirs, orchestras and general music. He also has served on the board of directors for the Missouri Music Educators Association.

Long has personally performed in the St. Patrick’s Day Parade in Dublin, Ireland, and also for the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York.

He received his Bachelor of Music – Education degree from the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville in 2000, and his Master of Music – Instrumental Conducting degree from Missouri State University (MSU) in Springfield in 2002. In 2021, he received a Specialist in Education – Teacher Leadership degree from MSU.

Prior to his position at West Plains R-7, Long served as band director at Glendale High School in Springfield from 2002 to 2004, as assistant band director at Springfield Hillcrest High School from 2000 to 2002 and as a graduate assistant at MSU from 2000 to 2002. He was a teaching assistant at Ramay Junior High School in Fayetteville, Arkansas, from 1997-1999.

He is a member of the Music Educators Association, Missouri Bandmasters Association, Phi Beta Mu international band fraternity, Phi Mu Alpha honorary music fraternity, and has served as the logistics chair for the Howell Country Relay for Life in the past.

For more information about the music program, contact the MSU-WP academic affairs office at 417-255-7272 or email WPAcademics@MissouriState.edu.

For more information about enrolling at MSU-WP, call 417-255-7955, email WPAdmissions@MissouriState.edu or visit WP.MissouriState.edu/FutureStudents.