Arthur Means founded the music program at Carver High School in 1959, then revived the marching band at Miles College after retiring in 1996.
Arthur Means Jr. was founder of Birmingham’s Carver High School marching band and patriarch of the modern Miles College marching band.Alumni from Carver High School and Miles College are honoring the legacy of a stalwart music director at both institutions.
Arthur Means Jr., founder of Birmingham’s Carver High School marching band and patriarch of the modern Miles College marching band died on June 12 at age 87. “He had so much influence on me, I wanted to be like him,” said Carver alumni Robert ‘Bobby’ Benton, who spent nearly 30 years as a band instructor in Birmingham City Schools. Means’ life will be celebrated at a funeral Saturday at noon from Sixteenth Street Baptist Church in BirminghamMeans became director of music when Carver High School opened in 1959 and served for 37 years.“We all became teachers just because of him. He was always professional,” Benton said. At one point, 10 of the Birmingham school district’s band directors and music teachers were his former students, Benton said. Means retired from the city system in 1996, just a few months before he revived the marching band at Miles College. Miles had not had a fulltime band since the 1970s. Several of the early band members were his former students from Carver, Means told The Birmingham News in 1996.“We march in purple jogging suits but that hasn’t been a deterrent,” Means said in the 1996 Birmingham News article. “And our size is deceiving. We have a band that sounds twice as large as it actually is. We’ve gone up against bands two and three times larger than ours this school year, but we have more than held our own.”While a student at the nearby Miles Law School building, Benton said he looked outside the window and saw his former band teacher directing a new generation of students — this time the revived Miles marching band. Benton said he even chose to join his fraternity, Kappa Alpha Psi, after learning that Means was a member. “He was a great man, a great brother, a great mentor, and father figure who believed in bringing out the best in all of us,” Benton said. Means’ presence still remains large at Carver High School, decades after he put down the maestro’s baton. When building a new campus 2000, school officials named the fine arts building for Means. His portrait also hangs in the building. A sign and marker was unveiled in a ceremony in . Carver also played a significant personal role in Means’ life. He met his wife Dathia there when she joined the music department in 1970. Means explained the key to his long success in a 2000 Birmingham Post-Herald story on the naming of the fine arts building.If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation.and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Birmingham-Southern College folds, but baseball team very much alive and headed to College World SeriesDavid K. Li is a senior breaking news reporter for NBC News Digital.
Read more »
Birmingham-Southern drops first game of College World SeriesA late rally couldn't overcome an early hole.
Read more »
Birmingham-Southern advances to College World SeriesBefore closing for good, BSC will play for a national title.
Read more »
Sunday schedule change for Birmingham-Southern at College World SeriesThe inspiring Birmingham-Southern baseball team faces another elimination game.
Read more »
Fired college coach leads Birmingham Stallions in pursuit of third straight championshipSkip Holtz had been let go by Louisiana Tech before posting a 30-4 record in professional spring football.
Read more »
Man gunned down inside vehicle in Birmingham’s College Hills neighborhoodThe targeted shooting happened about 9 p.m. Tuesday in the 700 block of Eighth Terrace West, becoming the city's 69th homicide in 2024.
Read more »