BISMARCK — When the new school year starts in the Bismarck School District, visitors to the high school will certainly know that school is in session. Sounds from the band room will be loud and clear, ringing in year 29 for band director Mike Copeland.
The band program has grown “by leaps and bounds” in the past 28 years, said Copeland, 54. “When I first came here, I had 13 students. More than 90 students have requested to be in the band this fall.”
Jane Wilson, counselor at Bismarck High School and supporter of Copeland and the band program, said, “That’s approximately 30 percent of our student body.
“He’s a great role model for our students, and we are so fortunate to have him at our school.”
The band has won numerous competitions across the state under Copeland’s tutelage.
Copeland said 2016 was “a really good year.”
“We won the Overall Outstanding Band Award at War Memorial (the Arkansas Showcase of Bands sponsored by the Arkansas School Band and Orchestra Association),” he said. Copeland and the band also received the Ray and Ruth Brandon Music Award, the Outstanding Music Performance Award and the Outstanding Percussion Award in the AA division.
“We won at least 17 trophies in the 2015-2016 school year and competed in three marching contests,” he said.
“Our band members are great kids,” Copeland said. “They are part of my family. They are my extended family.
“I try to meet every one of them at the door when they come into class. I give them a high-five or a fist bump.”
For the past seven years, Tim Show, assistant band director, has worked alongside Copeland in the band program.
Copeland was the band director in the Spring Hill School District in Hope for three years before coming to Bismarck.
He grew up in Nashville, graduating from Nashville High School in 1980. He graduated from Henderson State University in 1984 with a Bachelor of Music in Education degree.
Copeland plays trumpet and is a member of the Arkansas Jazz Orchestra, the Stardust Big Band and the David Rosen Big Band. Information on the Arkansas Jazz Orchestra’s website, arkansasjazzorchestra.com, shows that the Stardust Big Band performs at monthly dances in the Arlington Hotel’s Crystal Ballroom in Hot Springs, with a dance set for 3-6 p.m. Aug. 21. Stardust will also close out the Hot Springs Jazz Festival with its monthly dance Sept. 4.
“I love playing trumpet,” Copeland said. “If I couldn’t play, I don’t know what I would do.”
Copeland played baseball in college and has helped with the baseball and softball teams at Bismarck. He also drives a bus for the school district.
Copeland and his wife, Kim, have two children. Their son, Brian Copeland, 22, is a welder for Alumacraft Boat Co. in Arkadelphia. Their daughter, Brittany Harp, 28, lives with her husband, David, in Greenwood and works for the Department of Human Services in Sebastian County.
Mike Copeland’s No. 1 hobby is paintball. He participates in competitions in an armored vehicle, a tank known as “Das Buzzard.”
Copeland and his team, which includes his son, participate in events at Paintball Arkansas in Mayflower. They recently competed in Oklahoma D-Day at D-Day Adventure Park in Wyandotte, Oklahoma, which is a scenario game of paintball that recreates events of World War II.
“It’s a lot of fun,” he said. “I started playing about 17 years ago. I do it just for fun.”