Meet the Members

Sixty-Nine years of age, and extremely handsome, Joseph Largé. He is married to a sweet, totally talented writer and teacher at Hopkinsville Community College.

Joseph is one of the newest members of the Pennyrile Area Community Band – French horn player (officially known simply as a horn).
Plays a variety of instruments including Egyptian flute (Ney), mellophone, trumpet, acoustic guitar, ukulele, tenor banjo, tenor recorder – and other recorders.

Joseph is, humbly speaking, a total ham. He has acted in local plays and movies, both as main and supporting actor.

He is happily retired – spending his days as a house-frau and support for his dear, lovely wife who earns all the money in the household but is sweet enough to share it with her humble, loving husband and two demanding, willful dogs.

"My name is Julie Folz and I play clarinet. I am an alumni of the Christian County High School Colonel Band class of 1993. My husband, Tom and I have 2 boys, Thomas and Andrew. I am an instructor at Hopkinsville Community College in the Allied Health Division for Medical Assisting.

Making music has been a passion of mine since I was introduced to beginning band in the 6th grade at Attucks Middle School. I continued throughout high school and a little in college, but unfortunately I had no group to be a part of after college. I play with our choir at Saints Peter and Paul Catholic Church and now with this amazing group of people in the Pennyrile Area Community Band.

Sometimes life pulls me in many directions all at the same time, but I can come to band practice on Tuesday nights and just play! It truly is fantastic stress therapy. I am grateful to all of the band members as well as our community supporters for making this group a reality."

Alan Baker retired as band director from Trigg County Schools after serving three years as the assistant and twenty-five years as the High School Director. Alan received music education degrees from Murray State University in 1972 and the University of Illinois in 1978. Trigg County has been the lifelong residence for Alan and wife Connie who also retired from Trigg County schools after serving as a kindergarten teacher for over thirty-three years. They have two sons who both played in the Kentucky All-State Band. Oldest son Paxton played trumpet and works in genetic research at Vanderbilt University Hospital. Younger son Collin played percussion and is serving in the U. S. Army. He and his family are currently stationed in Germany.

In 1999, Mr. Baker received the Kentucky Outstanding Band Master award presented by the honorary fraternity for band directors, Phi Beta Mu. The First District Music Educators Association named Mr. Baker as the Outstanding Secondary Teacher in 1995, 1999, 2001 and 2004. He also served as the state elected band chairperson for Kentucky All-State Bands in 2000 through 2004.

Alan started playing trombone in the fifth grade at Trigg County Elementary. As a sixth grader, he began playing in the high school band where he met first chair senior trombonist, Brenda Hite Lyle. She became Alan’s first mentor and remains a friend, a trombone colleague and a real inspiration to himself as well as many others. In addition to being a new member of the Pennyrile Area Community Band, Alan plays with the Murray Town & Gown Band. He has also enjoyed playing with the Cadiz Baptist Church worship band for many years.

Lori is a graduate of Hopkinsville High School where her musical career started with the greats like Johnny Brown, David Hobbs, Don Martin and Barbara Felts.

She went to APSU and majored in music ed with an emphasis in instrumental music (French horn) and a minor in voice. Lori went to the University of Louisville for my masters in Music education. She completed a rank I in special education at Murray State.

Her first job was the band and then band and choir director at Marion County High in Lebanon, KY. There she met her football coaching, history teaching and Indiana native husband Matt Boehman

She taught at Marion Co. for 2 years then went to Christian County High as the band director for 7 years. Currently she is in her 18th year of teaching and teaches music at South Christian Elementary School. She is also the choir director at the Cumberland Presbyterian church in Hopkinsville.

She and Matt have 3 amazing sons that keep them busy.

Brenda grew up in Trigg County, she began playing trombone in 5th grade, and continued through high school. She graduated in the TCHS Class of 1961.
Brenda always wanted to play trombone; she had an aunt and uncle who played trombone in the 1940s at TCHS and HHS.

She has been married to John David Lile for almost 58 years. They have four daughters, all CCHS graduates, who are all involved in music programs, and five grandchildren.

Brenda has been actively involved at Edgewood Baptist Church since 1962. She has been a choir member, pianist or organist all but a few years. She served as the church organist from 1967-2014. She was church treasurer for 48 years, and she did private income tax service for 42 years. She retired as Payroll Specialist at Hopkinsille Community College after 17 years service.

In 2015 she was diagnosed with a brain tumor which was successfully removed. It left her unable to walk unassisted, thus she uses a walker. Brenda was very anxious to ascertain if her ability to read music and play piano would still be there. She has trouble with piano and organ because her right foot has nerve damage.
When the announcement about PAC Band was made, it thrilled her. She had not played trombone for many years but was hopeful it would come back. She discussed it with David, since she has to depend on him for transportation and help, and he was willing, and happy.

Brenda discussed her situation with our director Scott Estes before the first meeting. She did not want to spring a surprise on him. He graciously told her to come ahead.

This is what she has to say about being in the Pennyrile Area Community Band:

"Being able to be part of a band again is a dream come true, and such a blessing to be able to participate at age 75 is truly a bucket list item.

I have loved meeting new musicians, reconnecting with many, and just being part of this wonderful organization. I truly appreciate those who have assisted me with the logistics of getting in and out.

I know I will never be as good a musician as any of the others, but I can safely say I am enjoying it as much as anyone.

Please don't ever change us to marching band. I would be out."

Andrew Gray can’t remember a time when music wasn’t an important part of his life. In fact, some of his earliest memories are related to hearing his father, and the gospel music quartets he sang with, practicing around the piano in his family’s living room. At the age of six, he began taking piano lessons and started playing bass guitar at the age of nine. When Andrew turned 11, he began playing alto saxophone in the sixth grade band at Attucks Middle School and that same year, he joined his father playing bass guitar for the quartet his father sang with. As a 13 year old boy, he experienced the recording studio for the first time at Studio One, Nashville, as the quartet “The Singing Witnesses” recorded their first of two albums. Andrew was a four-year member of the Christian County Marching Colonel Band, was a member of All-District and Quad-State Bands and was a part of the 1979 Marching Colonel Band’s state championship, the first of two for the band. While in high school, he also was the church organist for Henderson Memorial Baptist Church, while the oldest of his two younger sisters played piano, and for part of the time, his father led the music.

After high school, Andrew wanted to be the next Bill Fisher, his high school band director, and went to Austin Peay State University as a music major. While there, he was a member of the GOMB and the Austin Peay Jazz Collegians. Although he dearly loved the music and theory, he realized that working toward turning music into a profession was affecting his love for something that was so important to him, so he chose to follow his second love, accounting, for a profession. He received his BBA in 1986 and has now been an accountant at Flynn Enterprises for more than 31 years.

Andrew played bass guitar for the Hopkinsville High School show choir “A Brighter Touch of Orange” for eight years and performed with the Kentucky Department of Parks for four summers, four nights a week, with the “New Lakeside Singers”.

Since that time, Andrew has been the interim minister of music for three different tenures at First Baptist Church, Hopkinsville. He met his late wife Melissa Gray, to whom he was married for more than 22 years, at First Baptist, and they together sang in the sanctuary choir, played in the adult handbell choir, helped lead the Pre-school Children’s Choir and were a part of the Worship Team. Both of their daughters, Lindsay and Andrea, became actively involved in music at First Baptist, both were members of the Marching Colonel Band and each continued to play as they went to college to become educators. Both are currently employed as teachers at Dr. Martin Luther King Elementary School. Andrew currently still sings in the sanctuary choir, plays bass guitar for the Worship Ministry and leads the Pre-school Children’s Choir at First Baptist. He enjoys that he is still able to play the saxophone regularly because of his participation in the Pennyrile Community Band.

Andrew says that his greatest musical accomplishment has been encouraging and supporting his daughters to pursue their musical talents to wherever they wanted them to go

Hilary Moore teaches 2nd grade reading at Pembroke Elementary School. She has been teaching for 18 years. Hilary graduated from Christian County High School in 1995, and played trumpet in the Colonel Band. She has a bachelor’s degree from Western Kentucky University, and was in the Hilltopper Band for 4 years. Hilary has a master’s degree from Murray State University.

Hilary has been married to her husband David for 19 years. David is retired from the U.S. Army where he served for 22 years. Hilary and David have two children, Sarah (14), and Nathan (9). Their daughter, Sarah, plays flute in the CCHS Colonel Band. Hilary enjoys being a “band mom”.

David Carmichael is the principal at Todd County Middle School in Elkton, KY. Previous to this position, he served there as the band director for ten years. He has played the euphonium since 1991, playing at Lone Oak Middle and High Schools in Paducah, KY before seeking a bachelor of music education (instrumental) degree at Murray State University. While at MSU, David played euphonium in the Wind Ensemble, Tuba/Euphonium Ensemble, & Racer Band, and also played bass trombone in the Jazz I Ensemble, Symphonic Band, and Trombone Choir. He is also a proud member of the Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia national music fraternity. David's hobbies include reading, running 5K/10Ks, and deep sea fishing.