John Riley Black III and Jeanette Black pause for a photo in the Alleghany High School band room.

New band director and wife hired to work for school system

Traveling and working in different parts of the world, the husband and wife team of John Riley Black III and Jeanette Black have experienced many things. One thing they haven't experienced, however, is living in the mountains.

Mr. Black is the newest addition to the Alleghany High School band program, where he assumed the position as director. He has been working in classrooms for about 35 years, he said. Mrs. Black is the newest addition to the staff at Glade Creek School, where she teaches social studies and language arts to middle school students. She has 28 years teaching experience, she said.

Coming for interviews for their prospective positions, the Blacks were immediately impressed with Alleghany County.

The couple sees their move to the area as an adventure. They have been to many areas around the world, including the Netherlands for seven years and Hong Kong, where they stayed for 11 years.

"We've worked in North Carolina, on two other continents and on the coast," said Mrs. Black. "We hadn't experienced the mountains before. This is just a totally different opportunity for us. We worked at the American School of the Hague in the Netherlands."

She recalled they were there for seven years for her husband's job. They worked at the Hong Kong International School for 11 years. At both locations, Mr. Black taught band, general music and a composition course. At the Hague, Mrs. Black taught chorus. In Hong Kong, she taught social studies and language arts.

"In both of those schools, they did not have a band program persay and they hired John to build one. He was quite successful," commented Mrs. Black.

Growing up, Mr. Black was immersed into music.

"My father played the violin, my mother and grandmother played the piano. I started playing the piano when I was 7-years-old and I started playing in the band when I was in the seventh grade."

Prior to coming to Alleghany, the couple had commuted to work for about 10 years, not living in the area they were working in. Mr. Black commented both he and his wife were looking for other positions.

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