by Kiesa Kay
Barry Bridwell believes in reliving the good times, as a band leader, a husband and a father. His wife, Karen, works at home, and together they have put faith and family first in their lives.
“I am trying to live my life in a way that is pleasing to God and do what I am called to do,” Bridwell said. “I want to use the gifts I have to teach children that life is not so much about acquiring things as about being the right kind of person.”
Bridwell said he has been called to music, teaching and fatherhood. He has taught band at both Landrum middle and high school for 22 years.
“I teach grades six to 12, so I get to teach the same students for seven years,” Bridwell said. “I watch them grow up. Some students will be half as tall as I am when we first meet, and when they graduate they will have grown 6 inches taller than I am. I help them grow, mature and learn to take on responsibilities as they grow older. The ones that aren’t dedicated don’t stay in this program. They must enjoy it to stick with it. It’s a very close knit group, and no one gets lost in a big organization. Everybody knows everybody.”
Every year, the marching band has a theme, and this year Bridwell chose the theme “Epic.” He chose music that would lend itself well to field maneuvers, the high-stepping and coordinated movements that happen at half-time shows.
“I thought about the different uses of the term epic and chose music from movies, songs that I enjoy listening to that would work on the field,” Bridwell said. “I arrange the music, too. I write out all the parts. If I’m going to live with it for so many hours, I’d better like it. Arranging makes it more mine, so I can be more creative and tailor what we do to the strengths of our own particular group.”
Bridwell teaches to awaken and develop appreciation for activity and music in his students.
“Band members learn life skills in working with other people, and how to put one’s own needs out of the way to do what the group needs,” Bridwell said. “I build this in our students. Our culture tends to be more self-centered, and band students learn the world doesn’t revolve around them. They get to be part of something bigger. They can do as a group what they can’t do individually.”
Bridwell, a trained musician, once dreamed of a life as a college professor or a professional performer, and he has three degrees in percussion performance.
“Anything you shake or hit or beat on, I can play,” Bridwell said. “I participate in church. I used to be in two symphonies, but the schedule with the school and band made it hard to keep up with, especially when the children got older. My priority has been to support my family.”
Bridwell attributed his family happiness and success to the constancy of his wife, Karen.
“My wife is a remarkable person,” Bridwell said. “We had to make a lot of sacrifices for her to stay home with the kids. I find a way to be there for really important stuff, but she has created a true home for our family.”
In spite of his pressed schedule, he has found time to coach all three of his children to spelling bee championships. The Bridwell family has an unsurpassed legacy: all three of them have won the S.C. Regional Spelling Bee.
Keiko Bridwell, the oldest, won the Bee four times, from 2005 to 2009. Zane Bridwell won in 2011, and the youngest, Kalika Bridwell, won 2013’s regional Bee after a lengthy duel of words. They have taken vacations on six separate years to Washington D.C. as a family, to attend the national spelling bee.
“We sightsee on the way up and during the week. It’s always eight days of fun,” Bridwell said. “This year, the opening round of the Bee was on the day of my oldest daughter’s graduation and she was doing the valedictory address. My youngest daughter and I went to D.C. first, together. My son, my oldest daughter and my wife hopped in the car and drove all night. They got there an hour before my youngest daughter got on stage.”
Bridwell and Kalika also managed to watch Keiko’s valedictory address on computer at the hotel. Bridwell has spent hours teaching all of his children proper pronunciation, etymology and the Latin and Greek roots of words. His oldest daughter, Keiko, has started college, and she was part of an elite group of national spelling bee participants who attended four consecutive years.
“Nationals were really amazing. We had a group of kids from all over America, an international group, really, with one thing in common: a love of words,” Keiko said. “We had no real rivalry, but camaraderie. We formed study groups together. We weren’t competing against each other. We were competing against the dictionary. I don’t miss the pressure, but I do miss studying with my dad. It was really special. He loves doing this with us one on one, and none of us ever were competing at the same time.”
Bridwell quizzed Keiko, Zane and Kalika on words, and had them type out words to remember the spelling. He also worked with them on pronunciation. As he talks about the work they did together, his voice grows warmer.
“I thought I didn’t have time in my schedule, but was going to do it anyway,” Bridwell said. “My oldest daughter and I worked every day year round for three years. I learned a lot from her and she learned a lot from me and we had a blast. The younger children would go to the competitions and try to spell the words they heard on stage on their pads. They learned how competitions worked.”
When Zane decided at the last minute to participate in his school bee and won, Bridwell worked very hard to help his son get ready for regionals.
“Zane only went to regionals one time and he won, and we say he’s the only one in the family who hasn’t been beat,” Bridwell said. “He really put his mind to it and reached his potential. I stress that with my children and my students: Be the best you can be. You can’t be somebody else.”
When Kalika participated in regionals, the spelling battle went on and on. In a spelling bee, when it gets to the last two participants, they spell back and forth until someone misses a word. Then, the remaining competitor spells the word correctly and spells one additional word to win the Bee. Kalika made history as the winner of a lengthy competition that went for more than 20 rounds. It reminded Bridwell of his own spelling bee experience in youth. He’d had a similar lengthy battle, and placed second in his county bee.
“It’s fun. I love words,” Bridwell said. “I enjoy the language, origin and etymology of words, and being able to show my kids words from other languages, like French, and how French works. It helps them with their SAT and ACT exams. It’s been a good thing for us.”
Bridwell also recalled talking with his wife to choose exactly the right words for their children’s names.
“My wife likes names that start with K. We worked hard on picking names because we didn’t want me to be reminded of any of my students,” Bridwell said. “Keiko means adored child, and there is a percussion marimba player in Japan by that name. I always liked the flashy Z for Zane. Kalika is Greek for rosebud.”
Bridwell enjoyed coaching his children to success, and he named John Wooden, basketball coach and Tony Dungy, NFL coach, as his heroes.
“They are Christians who don’t beat anyone over the head with it, but make it part of their everyday lifestyle,” he said.
A good coach, like a good band leader, builds strengths in other people and Bridwell strives to share strengths and good times with family, students and friends.
“When you experience something good, you want to recreate and relive that,” Bridwell said. “With band, when the kids have a good performance they may not win a trophy, but they feel good about themselves, and they want to recreate this feeling as many times as they can. We like to relive things that make us happy.”