William Griggs to Lead the Bolivar Central High School Band

Bolivar Central High School (BCHS) will have a new leader in the music department when Hardeman County native William Griggs joins the school as its band director. This time, Griggs will be standing at the podium directing students who now sit in the same chairs he did when he was a student at BCHS. Griggs’ return to BCHS brings him full circle from when he graduated as a student in 2015.

After graduating from BHCS, Griggs attended the University of Memphis and received a degree in music education. He has primarily been a contracted/self-employed musician having performed as music director over ensembles at the University of Memphis, for his event band, ATALive, in churches, and also was the music director for his own wedding to JohnBernae (Hudson) Griggs who is a 2018 BCHS graduate and Hardeman County native.

“I have been interested in music before I could even walk. My family recognized my interest early on and invested in me as a child and through to my adulthood. I knew that I wanted to do music full time at the age of 16,” said Griggs. “My primary instrument is piano, but I also play the bass guitar, drum set, the Hammond organ, and any percussion instrument.”

When Griggs was a student at BCHS, Matthew Boatwright was the band director. Boatwright introduced his students to a variety of music genres.

“We did a range of music when I was in the band. We played Jazz, Hip Hop, Pop, Rock, and more,” said Griggs. “My favorite genre of music is Gospel.”

Griggs hopes to make a positive impact on the students at BCHS as some of his former teachers did for him. He will be teaching alongside some of the same teachers who taught him throughout his years at the school. Since music is his focus, Griggs hopes to inspire students to love music and maybe even continue music as a career as he was inspired by teachers at BCHS.

“Two teachers who really made an impact on my musical journey while at BCHS are Matt Boatwright and his family, and Ms. Lawanda Beasley,” said Griggs, who has been able to support himself financially by doing something he loves. “Music has helped me in a lot of ways. My only source of income has been through music for the past nine years of my life. It has taken me places that I thought I would never go. Music has also given me an emotional place to go and release any built-up stress or tension and is a way of expressing moments of joy.”

BCHS was not the only high school in the county to lose its band director at the end of the 2022/2023 school year. Dr. Michael Yopp completed his final year at Middleton High School in May 2023 and now teaches at Freed-Hardeman University. Griggs, just as does Yopp, understands the importance of having a music program in schools.

 “I know that music is important in schools because it provides another area of interest for the students. Studies show that having musical involvement also helps to improve mental growth which can have a positive correlation with grades and student development overall,” said Griggs. “I hope to share the experiences that I have witnessed through music as well as provide a closer look at what music can really do for an individual. Students need to understand that there can be a future in music, and I am living proof of that.”

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