“It was always music,” Donald Hower said. 

Director of Athletic Bands Hower said he knew he wanted to enter music from the start.

“I didn’t have that problem like some students have where they’re not sure what they want to do with their lives,” he said.

Despite knowing this, Hower said he never suspected he would end up as a marching band director. When he got a job at his alma mater, Ohio State University, to teach trombone, part of the position involved assisting with the marching band that he had played in during his time as a student.

Music Instructor Chris Wurst has worked with Hower for four years and said Hower is able to impart a lot of knowledge on his students, as well as keep members of the band interested.

“He’s a very fun person to be around,” Wurst said. “He makes the kids want to come back to rehearsals.”

This year, about 170 students are in the Cougar Marching Band. Hower said the most rewarding part of his job is being around college students who work hard at making their band successful. He said he looks forward to going to work every day.

Each year, Hower and his staff sit down to brainstorm the themes for the shows. He said the meetings get pretty crazy with lots of ‘goofy ideas’ being thrown around.

He said one of his favorite themes was the superhero show, but always says the next will be his favorite. He added that his new one will be this Saturday’s theme, Cops and Robbers.

This will be Hower’s last year with WSU since he will retire in the spring. The next director is still unknown.

Hower said he hopes the next director will bring in new ideas for recruitment. He’d like to see the size of the band get back to the size it was when WSU was playing bowl games, which contained 230-240 people.

“They all think they don’t have time for it, but they’re not willing to give it a try to see if they have time,” he said.

Hower said he is sure it will be strange to watch someone else direct the marching band, but that he won’t miss the cold nights outside.

He said he doesn’t have any big plans for retirement yet, but he and his wife will still live in the area.

“I’m a sports nut,” he said. “So I’ll be going to all the athletic events. Just now, I’ll get to be a fan.”