Eagle Bands name new Assistant Director!

We would like to welcome Mr. Patrick McCarty as the new Assistant Band Director at Olathe North High School! Mr. McCarty brings a wide range of experience as a band director and percussion instructor to our program. You can read more about him below. Mr. McCarty will be visiting Olathe North next week to meet students.

Mr. Patrick McCarty has been the Director of Bands at Bellevue East High School in Bellevue, NE since 2014. During his time at Bellevue East, Mr. McCarty directed and oversaw a very active band program, which included the award winning marching band, concert band, symphonic band, and wind ensemble. The band program also boasted a thriving jazz program, basketball pep band, colorguard and winterguard program, and many other performance and educational opportunities for students. Under Mr. McCarty’s leadership, the band program grew substantially in musical quality, received superior ratings, and the Wind Ensemble was selected to perform the capstone concert at the Nebraska State Bandmasters Association 2017 Convention.

Prior to his work at Bellevue East High School, Mr. McCarty served as the Director of Athletic Bands and Instrumental Studies at Avila University in Kansas City, MO, from 2011 to 2014. There he directed the athletic bands and musical pit orchestra, taught music appreciation, music education courses, and private studio lessons. Prior to Avila University, Patrick was the Assistant Director of Bands at Lawrence High School from 2005-2010, where he conducted the LHS Concert Band, assisted with other ensembles, guided the percussion program, instructed beginning band classes, and helped assist the award winning LHS Marching Lions in several very successful years. He was also the permanent percussion instructor at Lawrence High School from 2003-2014.

A native of Lawrence, KS and Emporia, KS, Mr. McCarty has been an active participant in all mediums of instrumental music, including concert band, marching band, pep band, jazz band, orchestra, and percussion. Patrick is a graduate of The University of Kansas, where he earned his Bachelors of Music Education and Masters of Music Education and was a very active member of the KU Band Department. He enjoyed his membership in the KU Marching Jayhawks, KU Wind Ensemble, and back-to-back NCAA Final Four appearances with the KU Basketball Band in 2002 and 2003. Patrick was also a member of the Colts Drum & Bugle Corps in the summer of 1999.

Patrick has been a band and percussion clinician throughout Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, and Illinois for several years. He has served as a staff member of Dojo Percussion from Omaha, NE since 2013. He has also become well-known throughout the Midwest for his marching band and pep band arrangements, which have been performed by various high school and college bands around the country.