On a hot and sunny August day, around lunchtime, the Huntley Marching Band participates in a fun activity during their long day of band camp. Before releasing students to grab food, Tyler Guthrie suddenly announces that he will be the new director of the Huntley band. 

“Before I came to Huntley, I was teaching 5th through 8th grade band in Wheeling,” Guthrie said. “This will be year four with the marching band at Huntley, so I’ve worked with Huntley for three years before this.” 

When they heard they were getting a new director, many students knew Guthrie would help the band succeed, but for some it was still a difficult transition. 

“It could have effected our performance this season for the better or for worse, but working with [Guthrie] and figuring out his teaching style could help us be better, even though we had to do a rough switch of directors for two years in a row,” sophomore Olivia Pontious said. 

The transition for Guthrie was not the easiest either. He had to make everything work out before the school year started, only having weeks to do so.

“It was easy because I knew most of the students,” Guthrie said. “It was difficult because it was a short amount of time to plan for the school year.”

Getting a new director to lead the band was a positive change, and the band finally had a person to look up to. 

“He’s been very supportive, he’s been very collected for not only himself, but also for us, because he knows that to be a good leader you need to be very collected,” senior Mia Kaltenecker said. “That’s something that he really showed off to us, and showed us that he was there for only us.” 

The band may have had some moments of doubt with constantly changing directors, but Guthrie is someone that they can count on in the long run. Guthrie is someone that students can rely on for help with the band and their everyday lives.