What started with 22 orchestra students in 1986 has grown into a program of nearly 450 and one of the best in the state, with multiple ISSMA titles and decades of state finals appearances.
But the real impact is with the students. Doug has spent his career helping them grow as musicians and as people.
Article originally appeared in the August 2023 Legacy Ledger (Issue 36).
Kelly Watkins (FCHS ’84), Guest Contributor
Doug Elmore
(FCHS Faculty, 1986 – Present)
Doug Elmore always knew he wanted to be a high school orchestra director. Yet in 1986, his first year at FCHS, he only had 22 students in orchestra. Doug said, “If anyone had told me then that the Floyd Central Orchestra would achieve so much, I would have laughed out loud. It seemed impossible.”
Today, Doug teaches approximately 450 string players – at FCHS and Highland Hills Middle School. As the orchestra program grew, Doug credits previous FCHS Assistant Principal John Marsh with the support. John would ask Doug, “What can I do to help?”
In 1995, the Floyd Central Orchestra won the ISSMA state championship (the premier award for Indiana high school orchestras). The larger schools in central and northern Indiana never thought a school from southern Indiana could do that. FCHS was the smallest school at the finals competition (with the next largest school having 1,000 more students) … from the smallest county in Indiana. The state title wasn’t a fluke. FCHS won the title two more times, with the most recent award this year.
Those other schools in Indiana had no choice but to give Doug Elmore’s Floyd Central Orchestra the respect they deserve. In fact, FCHS has qualified for the ISSMA state finals for 33 years in a row … and that’s more than any other school in Indiana.
Doug’s students continue to impress him. Even five minutes before the state competition, they were still working to make the music beautiful. Doug said during a rehearsal this year, he was so proud of the students that he wanted to sneak into his office and cry. Doug wholeheartedly believes that with the skills and discipline these students have learned, “They will go make a difference in the world.” Doug isn’t simply making beautiful music, he’s building character.
Doug’s journey to develop character doesn’t end with just his orchestra students. Doug wanted to make history come alive through music for the entire Junior class. So, 25 years ago he created one of his most meaningful programs at FCHS, the Holocaust Memorial Assembly. The program featured music written by a Jewish concentration camp internee and was performed by the FCHS orchestra. There was also a Holocaust survivor as a guest speaker. The entire Junior class still attends this program every March.
Doug’s commitment to students doesn’t end at FCHS. He has served as Music Director of the Floyd County Youth Symphony for 24 years. In addition, Doug is currently Music Director for the prestigious Louisville Youth Orchestra.
Doug has been teaching and conducting for a long time. He said, “As long as the students keep saying yes and giving their all, I’ll keep doing the work.”
Doug’s wife (April) is retired from teaching at Highland Hills, and all three of their children (Ian, Megan, and Claire) graduated from FCHS.
Read the entire August 2023 Legacy Ledger (Issue 36) edition.