Marietta senior Aldan Gallaway recently signed a letter of intent to join the marching and concert bands as well as the honors program at East Central University in Ada. Aldan, who will graduate from MHS in May as a class valedictorian, plays all percussion instruments, including drumline, snare, bass, and quads, any mallet instrument, and “a little piano.”
To those with knowledge of Aldan’s heredity, his talent comes as no surprise. His father Eric Gallaway has been the band director at Marietta for well over 20 years and is church music director at Marietta’s First Baptist Church. His mother, Dr. Danise Gallaway received her PhD in Piano Pedagogy from the University of Oklahoma, is a Professor of Music at Murray State College, and has taught private students for many years. She’s also MFBC’s church pianist.
So almost certainly, Aldan absorbed musical talent in his baby food, if not in vitro, although he didn’t officially start band until sixth grade. He’s been the drumline captain since sophomore year and helps teach beginning middle school percussionists.
He also plays for the Sunday worship team and youth bands at First Baptist. And he’s the Academic Bowl Team captain, National Honor Society president, a member of gifted and talented, and has never missed an honor roll, so he’s a well-rounded individual, not just a musical prodigy.
For Aldan, receiving the scholarships is a wonderful benefit considering that ECU is where he wanted to go to school.
“My sister Addison is graduating from there in May and I’ve spent a lot of time up there,” he said, “so I’m excited to move to Ada and go to school at ECU.”
To win the scholarships, Aldan completed an audition and interview process with the band director and honors program advisors. The band scholarship pays $2,000 per year for four years, and the honors scholarship $3,500 per year for four years, so his parents are celebrating right along with Aldan.
“The honors program is a four-semester class rotation, an internship in their chosen field, then a research element from the internship,” said mom Danise. “The university maintains partnerships with all kinds of businesses and organizations, and they help the students locate the internships. They try to give them some real-life experiences.”
Aldan’s chosen field is Physics.
“My long-term plan is to work for NASA or a national observatory doing astronomy,” he said. “Almost all of my family are teachers or engineers and many of them work in science-related fields.”
Although Aldan will be playing in college band and is deeply grateful for his parents’ encouragement and support, he has absolutely no intention of becoming a second-generation band director. At least, not right now. Aldan will move to Ada in early summer to attend auditions for placement and early practices to prepare for football season.
“Aldan is an exceptional student and a great kid with a great deal of talent,” said MHS counselor Tonya Bucher. “He is hardworking and will excel at ECU. We are so proud of him and know he will do amazing things.”