Program, now in second year, begins to rebuild

Sept. 12, 2025 / For the first time in more than 30 years, band is back for students in South County schools.

The Klamath County School District launched a band program in its South County schools in January 2025 with more than 25 sixth-grade students at Malin and Merrill elementary schools. Taught and directed by band instructor George Izzett, students learned to play instruments and performed before a packed house at the Malin Broadway Theater in May.

This fall, the program expanded into Lost River Jr/Sr High School, bringing band back to the campus for the first time since the early 1990s, when it was cut during statewide budget reductions. Currently, 23 seventh-grade students — including five percussionists — are continuing the program at Lost River, while a new group of sixth-graders has joined band at Malin and Merrill elementaries. Thanks to a $4,000 donation from an annual fund-raiser at Chicken and Cheers in Klamath Falls, Izzett has ordered new percussion equipment for the students, who until now have been practicing on tables.

“This is about giving kids the opportunity to build skills, community, and pride in their school,” said Dr. Doris Ellison, Klamath County School District elementary curriculum director, who helped design the program’s expansion. “When families saw the sixth-graders perform last spring, many asked how long it had been since Lost River had a band. They were thrilled to see it return.”

The program is designed to grow gradually as each class of sixth-graders moves into higher grades, building toward a full middle and high school band program in the coming years.

Lost River Jr/Sr High School Principal Jana Dunlea said community response has been overwhelmingly positive. “To have students back on stage, playing together, is exciting not just for the kids but for our whole community.”

Currently, Izzett teaches band at Ferguson, Keno, Merrill, Malin, and Lost River, while director Chris Brown serves Peterson, Shasta, Henley, and Stearns elementaries and provides instrument repair across the district. The district also offers band programs at Henley Middle School, Brixner Junior High School, and Henley and Mazama high schools.

“This is a long-term investment in our students and in South County,” Ellison said.