When students returned to Gorham High School this past fall, they were greeted by several new faces on the faculty. One of these new faces was Isaac Hawkins, the school’s new band director and music teacher. Hawkins replaced Timothy Ebersold, who left after twelve years to take a position in Scarborough.

Hawkins’ first public concert at the high school was the Gorham High School Music Department concert held in October. Under his direction, the Jazz Band performed a stunning rendition of “What a Wonderful World,” most famously performed by Louis Armstrong. In addition, the Concert Band performed a lovely piece, split into four parts, called “Simple Gifts.”

Prior to coming to Gorham, Hawkins taught music at North Salem Elementary School in Dover, Pennsylvania, where he taught elementary band, elementary choir and general music. He also worked with the high school marching band in the area.

He is a 2018 graduate of the Sunderman Conservatory of Music at Gettysburg College, where he earned his Bachelor’s degree. He is currently enrolled in the hybrid master’s program for music and music education at Teachers College, Columbia University.

His favorite thing about Gorham High School is its students. He said, “They are so eager to try new ways of learning and were very welcoming to me as a new teacher.” In fact, despite the challenge of being a new teacher in a new school, he led his students to the MMEA (Maine Music Educators Association) district performances, and several students were selected to perform in the honors festivals.

Hawkins comes from a very musical family. The youngest of three, it was not a question of “if” but “when” he would start playing an instrument or singing in a choral group. He began playing the piano but chose the clarinet as an instrument to play when he joined the school band. One of the pieces he has loved to perform is the piece “City Trees” by Michael Markowski.

In addition to being the band director at the high school, Isaac Hawkins also teaches piano, guitar, and general music classes. He continues the great work of the Gorham High School band begun by former band direc- tors: Sidney Lerman (1961-63), John DiMillo (1963-64), Ronald Martin (1964-68), Robert Miller (1968-76), Hank Dempsey (1976-77), David Taylor (1977-78), Raymond Mathieu (1978-2010), and Timothy Ebersold (2010-22).

If you did not get to attend the fall concert, Gorham High School’s Winter Concert is scheduled for Tuesday, Jan. 10, 2023 at 7 p.m. The bands will be performing pieces as well as the choral groups. You can also find the two instrumental pieces from the Fall Concert on the Gorham Vocal Music YouTube channel.