September 19, 2025

Enrollment in the Music Education Department at East Mississippi Community College’s Scooba campus has surged under the direction of Mighty Lion Band Director Daniel Wade and Director of Choirs Dr. Matthew Butler.

When Wade was hired a year ago to take over the Mighty Lion Band, he inherited a roster of 62 students. By the fall of this year, that number had swelled to 102. Butler came on board as EMCC’s choir director in July of 2025 with six students. Two months later, he has an enrollment of 81 choir students.

Wade, an EMCC graduate who earned a Master of Music Education at William Carey University, grew up in Porterville and taught music at Kemper County High School for 18 months before working for nearly two decades with Neshoba Central High School’s Big Blue Band, first as assistant director and then head band director.

He has been actively recruiting at high schools in EMCC’s district.

“We have made multiple visits to some schools and rebuilt relationships with other schools we had not been in touch with very much,” Wade said. “We have also had a lot of out-of-district students reach out to us to come and tour our campus.”

The band has hosted events such as “Jamming in the Stands,” a band performance that took place during a recent ballgame, and a regional band honor clinic for about 140 students.

Butler, an Arkansas native who earned a PhD in Music Education from the University of Mississippi, has served in numerous positions at both the high school and university levels, including that of instructor, band director and choir director.

Butler has concentrated his recruiting efforts on campus so far.

“There was a lot of opportunity to recruit talented students for the choir who are already on campus,” Butler said. “Our students have friends who sing in the choir, and they want to be a part of that as well.”

Like Wade, Butler plans to begin recruiting at high schools for the 2026 spring season.

“My goal is to build on our momentum and keep surging our numbers,” Butler said.

The choir has three components, the largest of which is the Concert Choir. Reflections is comprised of a smaller, select group of students. Music Theater takes place in the spring. Students are involved in putting together a major musical work that includes singing, acting, dancing, costumes, props and set design.

Butler is renaming the Concert Choir to the Singing Pride and plans on making it the main choral group on campus, a spot once reserved for the smaller Reflections Choir.

“Singing Pride is the largest choir, and I want it to be the main representative group for EMCC,” Butler said. “Reflections will be an added bonus.”

The Mighty Lion Band consists of several components, which include a marching band, a jazz band, a percussion ensemble, a color guard and the EMCC Symphonic Winds.

EMCC Assistant Director of Bands Ben Neal serves as the director of percussions and assists with the marching band. In November of 2024, Melonie Moore Washington was hired as the coordinator for the Eastern Belles Dance Team, which was reconstituted after a one-year hiatus.

In September of 2025, Maggie Hardin was brought on board to assist with the growing band and music department.

There is also a Golden Triangle Concert Choir on EMCC’s Golden Triangle campus that operates under the direction of music instructor Jamie Taylor. The Golden Triangle choir performs at various events at that campus each year, including spring and fall choral concerts that are open to the public.

Band and choir staff also teach for the Music Education Department. There has been a surge in music majors at EMCC as well. In 2024, the school had fewer than 10 music majors. During the fall 2025 term, that number topped out at 28.

“We want students to know that EMCC is the place to be if they want to pursue a music education major,” Wade said. “That is separate from the Mighty Lion Band or choir. If they want to be a band director or choir director, they can come to EMCC and can take music theory classes and applied lessons on their musical instrument, or voice or piano. They are getting training as a classical musician.”

In his first term, Butler credited his co-workers in the Music Education Department for the growth in music education majors.

“I am excited about adding to their efforts, so we keep strengthening and expanding our numbers,” Butler said.

EMCC Humanities & Fine Arts Division Chair DeLisa Brand praised the dedication of all of those in the Music Education Department.

“The Mighty Lion Band and the choirs are a big part of the student and fan experiences at EMCC,” Brand said. “I’m excited to see the growth in both programs, which is the result of much hard work on the part of everyone in our Music Education Department, and I commend everyone involved. We have one of the largest music departments among Mississippi community colleges and hope to see the music programs on our campus continue to grow."