Frank Wickes has tamed and conducted the roar of Tigerband for 30 years now. But the great LSU director of bands is retiring when the spring semester ends.His service to the great golden icon in Tiger Stadium, as well as his truly exquisite concert ensembles, will not be forgotten, and his direction will be greatly missed.His successor has big shoes to fill in the void he leaves.A select few members of the LSU community were charged with the difficult task of recommending the new director of bands in fall 2009.Regretfully, the associate director of bands, Linda Moorhouse, did not apply for the position. Having heard her concert ensemble, Symphonic Winds, and having spent two years in Tigerband, I assure you, she would have aptly followed Wickes in continuing the band department’s tradition of excellence.Laurence Kaptain, dean of the College of Music and Dramatic Arts, nevertheless requested the recommendation of the search committee before the end of the week.The committee announced the three final candidates earlier this semester. These candidates would come to campus for interviews and sessions in which they would conduct ensembles and smaller chamber groups.Each candidate met with an array of different faculty members, students, University community members and the search committee in particular.The committee is composed of three faculty members, one student representative and the chair of the search committee. The initial plan for the committee included a senior member of the Athletic Department staff. Each member instead has spoken to Senior Associate Athletics Director Mark Ewing.The committee is somewhat diverse in promoting differing opinions, but there are a few problems. One problem I have is with how the student representative came into the position. The LSU Student Government Constitution states all student members of committees affecting students should be either the president or his or her designee. I spoke to SG Vice President Martina Scheuermann, who told me neither she nor SG President Stuart Watkins was contacted by the chair of the committee.Regardless of my opinion of SG, it can serve a truly meaningful purpose in this case. This executive authority enables students to be represented in big decisions that affect them preventing faculty from selecting a “vanilla” student who won’t fully represent the rest of the student body — an easy step to give students the feeling that their voice affects the school in a positive light.The student representative isn’t “vanilla,” but she is not in Tigerband — just Wind Ensemble, which reduces her contact with the affected students.Regardless, the students got a chance to voice their opinions through a survey of 60 students, mostly from Wind Ensemble and a fraction from Tigerband leadership positions. Fifty-two percent supported the third candidate, Gary Sousa. I hope this support is reflected in the final decision.Besides this, there is a curious absence of faculty members in the conducting or woodwinds areas. Both of these areas are significantly involved with the director position. They instead have two brass and one piano faculty.Another pertinent issue is the relationship between LSU Athletics and the search.You might initially wonder about Athletics’ involvement with the Department of Bands, but Athletics allocated more than $985,000 to the band department this fiscal year. With such a major contribution, Athletics would surely be significantly involved in the decision, but Ewing says they weren’t solicited for the committee seat. He would basically offer his opinion on the candidates.Both the dean and chair of the committee are out of town and were unable to explain the change from the initial intentions, but I did speak to the CMDA Director of Communications, Pamela Matassa. She explained the future director position would be relieved of budgeting responsibilities by the CMDA to focus on all of the ensembles, especially the not-as-visible concert ensembles. I don’t agree with concentrating so much responsibility on a smaller amount of employees. Spreading the responsibility of budgeting, like it currently is, seems like it would lessen the load on any one person, but I’m no public administration major.I’m sure the provost will make the best decision possible, and LSU bands will roar for years to come.Matt Lousteau is a 20-year-old mechanical engineering junior from Laplace. Follow him on Twitter @TDR_mlousteau.– – – -Contact Matt Lousteau at [email protected]