When Tom Chentnik looks at his 2024 Arkansas Bandmaster of the Year award, he reflects on the Arkansas Tech University faculty members who helped prepare him for a career in music education.
“My experience as a student at Tech helped shape me to be the band director I am today,” said Chentnik. “I’m thankful for the outstanding instructors I had in the music department — Mr. Hal Cooper, Ken and Karen Futterer, Philip Parker, Vicky Kiehl, Dr. Robert Casey, Andy Anders, Dr. Gary Barrow and Dr. Ed Connelly, to name a few. They demanded excellence, guided and cared for me and helped prepare me for my career. I will be eternally grateful to each of them for the positive influence they had in my life. I’m proud to be a graduate of Arkansas Tech University.”
Chentnik received the Arkansas Bandmasters Association’s highest annual honor during the organization’s 50th anniversary conference, which was held in Fort Smith in August.
“It is truly an honor to receive this award,” said Chentnik. “When we took a group picture of the 15-to-20 previous Arkansas Bandmaster of the Year recipients…I was in awe to be amongst that group. I was impacted by a majority of those directors as a student myself, as a young director and really throughout my whole career as I’ve sought after their insight, advice and guidance.”
In many ways, Chentnik’s musical journey began when he attended band camp at Arkansas Tech as a sixth grader in 1981. He enrolled at Arkansas Tech to study music education six years later and met his wife, Jill, at ATU.
Together, the Chentniks embarked upon a music education career that began with a student teaching assignment in the Russellville School District under the tutelage of such educators as Travis Beard, Julia Reynolds, Dewayne Dove, Jerry Ratzlaff and Don Dodson.
The Chentniks graduated from ATU in 1992 and began their teaching careers, first in Texarkana and then in Russellville. Eventually, their path led back to Tom’s hometown when he succeeded his high school band director and mentor, Robert Nelson, at Mountain Home High School in 2002. The Chentniks have been there ever since as part of their 32-year career in music education.
“Arkansas has an amazing legacy of bands and the comradery amongst its directors has always been great…it is a tight-knit community,” said Chentnik. “I’m also proud of the fact that I received this award exactly 30 years after my high school director and predecessor, Robert Nelson, did in 1994. His wife, Ann, sent a hand-written note to me congratulating me on this honor and telling me how proud Robert would have been. That was very special to me.”
The Mountain Home High School Band attained a new level of success during the 2023-24 academic year when it won its first “super sweepstakes” by earning superior first division ratings at the state marching and concert competitions.
Chentnik’s band also won first place in class 6A at the 2024 Arkansas School Band and Orchestra State Concert Contest in April. The MHHS band will be featured at the state band contest in Jonesboro in April 2025.
Previous years have seen the Bomber band perform at the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City, the Orlando Citrus Parade in Florida, the Smoky Mountain Music Festival in Gatlinburg, Tenn., and the Arkansas Tech University Southern Regional Concert Band Festival in Russellville.
“I’m thankful for the opportunity I had to return to Mountain Home as a director,” continued Chentnik, “and thankful that I’ve been able to continue to help guide the program with the amazing students, supportive community and school administration before the baton is passed on to the next generation.”
As he begins his 33rd year in education, the love of music that was sparked at Arkansas Tech band camp more than 40 years ago remains strong in Tom Chentnik.
“One of the things I love about band is it’s essentially always the same,” said Chentnik. “Members and directors of the band may change through the years, but good music is good music across all generations. Playing a Bach chorale back in high school, at Tech or now leading one as director of my band today…it still has the same pure quality. It’s still beautiful music. The classic band pieces will always be the classic band pieces.
“At the same time, music is limitless in its creation of melody, harmony, rhythm, timbre, dynamics and style,” continued Chentnik. “The possibilities are literally endless and there are always new and exciting pieces being composed and performed. What keeps me coming back is the enjoyment I have working with my students, helping them learn their craft on their instrument and being a small part of their performances as they continually strive for excellence. Teachers deal with a lot of ‘stuff,’ in education today, but getting in front of my band students is still fun, enjoyable and the best part of the job. We get to make music every day.”
