Deanna (Phillips) Russell (Class of 2012) did it all for Southwestern Michigan College Performing Arts.

Originally from Three Oaks, she graduated from River Valley High School in 2010.

Russell performed in Symphonic Band, the Jazz Band, Select Voices, Concert Choir, Women’s Choir and Show Choir. She was also part of a saxophone quartet her freshman year.

Russell played clarinet in Symphonic Band and tenor saxophone and piano in the jazz band.

Not only did she appear in two spring musicals, she met her husband, Tanner, in the winter of 2011 in the chorus of “How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying.”

That cast was also notable for Dori Prange, who has her own action figure for wrestling in the WWE as Ruby Riott, and Chelsea Whiteoak, who directs the choir program at crosstown rival Portage Northern while Russell directs bands at Portage Central.

Russell performed in the pit orchestra for “Little Shop of Horrors” in the winter of 2012.

Spring performing arts tour recruited her

“SMC has a longstanding tradition of sending its band, choir and drama students on a spring performing arts tour,” Russell said. “The tour includes stops at various area high schools and serves as a recruiting tool for the performing arts department. I looked forward to this performance every year and couldn’t wait for my turn to perform with both the jazz band and the choir!”

David Carew was her SMC choir director, but her band director was Dr. Jon Korzun, who retired in the spring of 2019 after 28 years.

Yet she enjoys a connection to current Director of Bands Mark Hollandsworth.

“Mark used to work at Buchanan as the Director of Bands,” she said. “When he landed the job at SMC, I applied at Buchanan and stepped into his role. I did play in Mark’s ensembles as a community member after moving to Buchanan, and even assisted with clarinet sectionals. He is a great director, and I love when I get the opportunity to play in ensembles under his leadership.”

When dancing’s door closed, another opened

Russell “knew I wanted to be a band director since I was in high school, and I knew I was going to be a teacher much earlier than that. The original plan was to become a dance teacher and choreographer, but after having corrective surgery for scoliosis just before entering high school, that was no longer a feasible career option.

“I was always in love with music,” she said, “and when I had to take a step back from dancing, I threw myself into my clarinet playing and eventually picked up piano, trumpet and saxophone.

“I realized that I liked playing instruments just as much as I liked dancing, and I liked teaching music to younger students even more — so becoming a band director made sense.”

After graduating, Russell transferred to Western Michigan University and studied clarinet with Brad Wong. She graduated with her bachelor’s of music education degree in 2016.

Russell moved to California for three years and taught grades 6-8 band at Standard Middle School in Bakersfield. “I even taught competitive middle-school marching band,” she said.

Russell returned to Michigan in 2019 for the Buchanan job.

“I was the Director of Bands my first two years,” Russell said, “then became Director of Bands and Choirs my third and fourth years.”

Mixed emotions about becoming a Mustang

Russell began working at Portage Central in the fall of 2023. One of three Director of Bands positions opened upon Rennee Flynn’s retirement.

“This opportunity was appealing because it presented me with an opportunity to team teach alongside one of my first and all-time favorite mentor teachers I’ve ever had,” she said. “If you get an opportunity like that, you have to apply.

“I was overjoyed when I learned that I got the job, but I was sad to have to break the news to my Buchanan students. We had come off of a nearly undefeated scholastic marching season, and a really successful concert season — and our newly-developed choir was celebrating successes after their first festival season.

“It was hard to leave them, especially when it felt like we were at the beginning of what could be something really special, but my students are great people and were very supportive of what was best for me — and were active in the process of selecting a new band director and new choir director.”

Portage Central employs three band directors, two fulltime Directors of Bands and one part-time director to assist with marching band.

“When your marching band often has over 160 members it requires as many hands on deck as possible,” Russell said.

She teaches a full load of band classes and band for all grade levels, 6-12, including Seventh Grade Band, Eighth Grade Band, Sixth Grade Trumpets/Horns every other day, Sixth Grade Trombones/Baritones/Percussion every other day, PC Winds and Percussion (a high school non-marching band class), HS Symphonic Band, HS Concert Band, Sixth Grade Flutes/Oboes/Percussion every other day and Sixth Grade Clarinets/Saxophones/Bassoons every other day.

“Both Bryan VanToll and I teach all of these classes together,” she said. “We each have classes where we take the lead and the other assists. I tend to take the lead more often in the middle school classes, and he tends to take the lead more often at the high school.”

Portage Central also provides a number of extra-curricular band activities, including Indoor Percussion, an after-school club designed to teach drums and mallet instruments. It is open to any CMS (Central Middle School), WMS (West Middle School) or PCHS (Portage Central High School) band students. It meets weekly and performs at CHS band concerts.

The William Short Jazz/Rock Ensemble meets after school on Wednesdays at WMS. It is open to any WMS or CMS students by audition.

The High School Jazz Band is an after-school club that meets on Mondays and is open to any CHS or NHS (Northern High School) band students.

Russell also advises the PCHS Aquarium Club.

“It isn’t related to band at all,” she said, “just another thing that I do. This club meets once per month and helps maintain the school aquarium. We also get together to learn about various fishkeeping/aquatic horticulture topics.”

Roadrunners making their marks

Russell reels off Roadrunners she knows, such as Benjamin Van Roekel, Dowagiac’s band director, and Jake Blaylock, Edwardsburg’s band director.

“Jake got to SMC after I graduated, but we overlapped at Western,” she said. “Emily Perkins is an SMC alum who was involved in the choirs and sings professionally with the U.S. Army Field Band. Krystal Davis works at Sweetwater Music in Fort Wayne, Ind., and is also the front woman for a couple of bands that are really taking off. She was also involved as an audio engineer in both the recording studio and in the live event space at Sweetwater for a long time — and for a while was one of very few women in the business of making records in the country. She was in band, choir and just about everything else.”

Jotting down Doc Korzun quotes

Russell, who lived in Keith H. McKenzie Hall and now lives in Portage with Tanner and their cats, Pabu and Bosco, took at least 18 credit hours every semester.

“Most of my activities were related to my classes. I did love being involved with the spring musical, whether on stage or in the pit. That is where I made most of my friends. Most of my best memories happened in the band room or nearby. Doc Korzun was very quotable. Both Jazz and Symphonic Band were a great time with him and I remember writing some of his best puns and one-liners in my sheet music.”

Given her immersion in the fine arts, her reaction to the Room to Grow campaign is heartening.

“Wow! I can’t wait to see the space when it is finished. The renovations sound like they will serve the students for generations to come. I wish we had facilities like that when I was a student there!”

Making music with students is the best part of her job.

“Getting to see their ‘lightbulb’ moments when they master a new concept every day brings me a joy that is hard to describe. I can’t imagine doing anything else,” Russell said.