As a high school student at nearby Elkhart Memorial, assistant director Bryan Golden used to stand on Concord’s sidelines to watch Max’s band practices. He later did his student teaching under Max. But as the youngest of Max Jones’s “sons,” Golden felt insecure in his junior role on the Concord staff.

bryan golden
assistant director
low brass, pep band

“When Bryan Golden stood in front of the 140-student pep band during basketball season, he looked barely older than the students he was directing—and just as gung-ho. (Concord’s boy’s team hadn’t lost a home game in almost three seasons, a run that people in the community chalked up to Concord’s trifecta: the team, the fans, and the band.) Golden cared deeply about his kids in the low brass, cared about their lives and concerns, and the kids responded. Golden was a fine musician in his own right, a trombone player, but he was beloved by the kids because of his heart.

The young director made a special point during the week of full band camp, with its eight-hour days, to encourage a couple of severely overweight boys who struggled with the camp’s physical demands. He walked beside them as they marched, told them that he knew they had it in them, that it would get easier, and let the boys decide how broadly to define ‘it.’”