New RCHS band director looks to build on solid foundation
by Peter Jakey—Advance Editor
Jack Fults III has a wide variety of music he enjoys listening to at different times of the day.
Walking into the Rogers City High School band room, the new band director might be listening to classical music as he prepares for the upcoming school year.
On his drive into work, which will be a place he is renting in Hawks, it could be a deep vinyl cut from a classic rock tune on SiriusXM.
“There is music I listen to when I teach the students; there is music I listen to relax for the day,” said Fults.
Fults was hired to take over for longtime director Ed Wilbert, who retired at the end of the school year. Wilbert had been with the school district for 40 years.
“Mr. Wilbert set up quite the foundation and it’s definitely some big shoes to fill,” said Fults. “I would always say, it’s not a matter of replacing the person, but it is taking the foundation that is already in place and seeing what you can add to what is already there.”
The Gaylord native graduated from Saginaw Valley State University in 2017.
“I went downstate for my music teacher education for a while,” said Fults. “I was living in the Saginaw/Bay City/Midland area for seven or eight years.”
For the last four years he has been at Concord Academy in Boyne where he had 35 in the high school band program. In the middle school it was 25 to 30. Advance choir had about 10, while the concert choir was around 30.
“The administration is looking for new ideas in the music program,” said Fults. “One of the things is beefing up the marching program. Some of the things I hope to do is take the ground work that Mr. Wilbert did and try some fresh ideas to get some bigger numbers through the marching program/concert program…try and get the kids more involved musically.”
Fults may be involved in teaching fourth-/fifth-grade music and possibly high school choir.
“I am one those teachers that is constantly moving,” he said. “I will have a podium in there, but I will always be moving between the sections, just trying to get some life out of those kids. Keep them engaged with humor.”
Before the school year starts, Fults would like to talk with some of the students to see where they foresee the music program going.
“Even though I am inheriting the band program and it’s kind of my thing, I still like to get some student input about what we do,” said Fults, “Because there is so much good music out there, but what are the musical selections the kids would like to see.
“Ultimately in the first days and weeks, it’s getting to know them, them getting to know me and then just having as much fun with as much music as we can.” He planned to talk with the dozen or so students in the Rogers City City Band earlier this week at rehearsal.
The new directo
Fults knows Rogers City extremely well, considering that his mother Virginia (Mulka) of Gaylord and his grandparents are from the Nautical City.
“I am the grandson of the late Harry and Clara Mulka,” he said. “It is always refreshing coming back to Rogers City. When I came up for the interview, all the childhood memories started to kick in of going to grandma and grandpa’s house.”