Mr. Marty Hurley gave so much to Brother Martin High School.
Remembering Marty Hurley
I noticed this morning on Facebook, Brother Martin High School posted that it’s been thirteen years since legendary Crusader Band Director Marty Hurley passed away. It’s not so much his actual passing I remember, but the day he had the stroke that took his life.
I was a band dad at the time. my CPA kiddo, Kevin, played trombone. We were at Central Lafourche High for the first football game of the season in 2011. That’s when we heard that Mr. Hurley was rushed to the hospital with a stroke. A cloud hung over the game, but Mr. Caronna and the boys did their job, supporting the football team. That’s exactly what Mr. Hurley expected–he ran a band totally dedicated to that mission in the fall semester. My son was Brass Captain that year. His friend and trombone section leader, Bret Storms, was Drum Major. Kev handled the logistics while Bret handled the music. They knew the best thing they could do to help Mr. Caronna was to clear his plate. Caronna, a Crusader himself, was Drum Major in his senior year. He came back to BMHS to work with Hurley. We all got through that night, and the worst a few days later, when we lost Mr. Hurley.
After a private funeral, the school held a public memorial in the back yard, just outside the Terrace. Former Crusader drummers came from all over, as well as drummers from the Phantom Regiment drum corps. Mr. Hurley had a long-time affiliation with Phantom. The Crusader drum line performed cadences 1 and 2, their go-tos, along with a number of others. Mr. Hurley wrote a new cadence each year. What really moved me to tears was when all those Phantom drummers performed. They have a memorial cadence, and when they would put their hands over their hearts while playing, I cried.
My time to Kevin’s
I remember when Mr. Hurley came to Brother Martin. Brother Virgil, SC, retired as Music Department Chairman and Band Director. Mr. Keith Keller took over. He brought in Mr. Arthur Hardy. Keller left, leaving Arthur (he told me a couple of years ago I had to stop calling him “Mr. Hardy” when I hosted him on a podcast) in charge. Arthur immediately brought in his friend, Marty. Mr. Hurley was a USAF veteran who became part of the band at Keesler AFB in Biloxi. He fell in love with New Orleans and stayed around. That Hardy/Hurley duo was magical. Arthur kicked off “Arthur Hardy’s Mardi Gras Guide” while at BMHS. A few years later, that business became more than part-time, and he left the school. Hurley hired Mr. Dominick Caronna as his assistant. I always thought of Mr. Caronna as Commander Riker to Hurley’s Captain Picard. Caronna could have had his pick of band gigs, but he stayed a Crusader.
I didn’t have much contact with the band teachers during my time (1971-1976). Neither did my firstborn, Justin (2006). Kevin (2012) was the one with musical talent. He started on baritone in elementary school. When we started him with a horn tutor, the late Mr. Jay Haydel, Haydel switched him to trombone. He said, Marty will want more trombones, and that was that.
Back to School Night
We did the follow-the-schedule thing for Back to School Night in the fall of 2007. As we approached the band room in the Ridgley Center, we heard a fife and drum. It was Messers. Caronna and Hurley! Mr. Caronna is a flautist, and Mr. Hurley played a snare drum he received from the United States Military Academy Band, whom he did seminars for. It was neat to be serenaded in as parents.
Mr. Caronna convinced another Crusader Band Drum Major, Mr. Chris Bailey, to join him at Brother Martin. Bailey was a year behind Caronna. They continue to be a classic team in the Hardy/Hurley and Hurley/Caronna traditions.
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