The Habersham County Board of Education has named Jacob Weinstein as their new band director following the announcement of current Band Director Ryan Dukes’ retirement.
The board approved Weinstein’s recommendation at their Monday night board meeting, three months after Dukes announced his retirement in December. He plans to retire at the end of February 2023, but Weinstein will join him before his retirement.
Dukes has served as the Habersham Central High School’s band director since 2007— and he’s only the third band director to serve the school since the 1970s.
“This is a very important hire for Habersham Central High School,” says HCHS Principal Jonathan Stribling. “[These are] no small shoes to fill, as we all know Mr. Dukes is retiring next February. The board was gracious enough for us to hire someone who will actually begin working in July, go through band camp, go through all their traditions in the fall and the holiday season, which is very important with the band, and then Mr. Dukes will retire in February and [Weinstein] will just continue on as the director of bands.”
Weinstein, a University of Georgia graduate, is currently in his third year as band director at Temple High School in Carroll County. He will join the Habersham school system in July, just in time for band camp.
Weinstein was unanimously hired by a six-person committee that included Habersham Ninth Grade Academy Principal David Leenman, Percussion Instructor Dora Lucas, Dukes, Stribling and two HCHS senior band members. He was required to teach lessons to HCHS and HNGA students as part of his hiring process.
“Most importantly, absolutely most important, he is a musician,” Stribling says. “But he loves high school and he loves high school students. I am 100 percent sold on that and happy to get behind Mr. Weinstein, behind the unanimous recommendation of our interview committee.”
