William “Bill” Waterman has taken a unique path in order to become the Director of Athletic Bands at UTM. He has taken risks and jumped at different situations, but has never been afraid of experiencing new things.
Waterman has lived an interesting life since the day he was born in San Francisco, on Dec. 2, 1980. A little over seven months after his birth, his family moved to Belgium for three and a half years before coming back to the United States.
For the most part, Waterman grew up in Leavenworth, Kansas. His father, Col. Richard Waterman, attended West Point and was an engineer in the Army, while his mother, Jan Waterman, attended Indiana University and was a schoolteacher.
Bill Waterman’s first taste of music came in the fifth grade, when he started playing a trumpet his brother, Richard Jr., owned. He instantly fell in love, realizing he had a knack for music. Waterman started playing the trombone in the school band during the sixth grade, although he soon became disinterested.
“To be honest, I think I just became a little bored,” Waterman said. “I wanted to quit the band because it wasn’t fun for me anymore. I had been playing my brother’s trumpet for a year now so I was a little more advanced than the other kids. That is when my music director suggested I started to learn more instruments.”
By the end of his sixth-grade year, Waterman was playing the trumpet, trombone, and the euphonium. By the end of seventh grade, he was playing the tuba and continued to find more instruments to learn how to play.
By the time he was in eighth grade, he was good enough to play the tuba in the high school band. He continued to play in the marching band until his senior year of high school. While playing in the marching band, he also played tuba in the jazz band and conducted the pep band during football and basketball seasons.
Waterman eventually received a scholarship to play tuba at the University of Kansas. While at Kansas, though, Waterman decided he was bored again.
“One day, my roommates and I were sitting around and they were playing their percussion instruments, and I said to myself, ‘I could do that,’ ” Waterman said.
With the help of his roommates, Waterman tried out for and became a member of the drumline at Kansas.
Upon receiving his Bachelor of Music degree, he decided he wanted to pursue his master’s degree of music, which he did, at Texas Tech University. During his tenure at Texas Tech, he was chosen as a part of the collegiate honor series to go to New York City and perform a solo recital at the renowned Carnegie Hall.
But, once again, Waterman was bored. He felt as though he needed to get away from Kansas and experience what the rest of the country had to offer. He decided to pursue his doctoral degree in music at Michigan State University, where he is currently finishing his final research course in order to receive his degree. While at Michigan State, Waterman was given the opportunity to conduct the Capital City Brass Band, a significant honor.
“I had some experience conducting, but it was nothing of this magnitude,” Waterman said. “There were risks and a huge amount of responsibility involved, but the opportunity was exciting and it was something I wanted to do.”
Under Waterman, the Capital City Brass Band won back-to-back first-place championship finishes in the 2013 and 2014 North American Brass Band Association (NABBA) 10-Piece Brass Band category.
Although the time with the Capital City Brass Band was rewarding, Waterman was still wanting more. Throughout his life, Waterman had been inspired by many people, none more so than his first music director, Bob Cowan.
“Mr. Cowan taught me to love music and to be a good person,” Waterman said. “He was a great role model and teacher.”
That is when Waterman decided he wanted to teach. He wanted to instill into other people what Cowan had instilled in him at such a young age. Waterman applied for the UTM position of Director of Athletic Bands to pursue his passion of teaching and making good music.
The music that you hear coming from the UTM marching band is new and exciting, but it is still musical in essence.
“If there is anything I want my students to learn from me, it is for them to work very hard at anything that they do and to be kind,” Waterman said. “Those are my two biggest mantras in life.”
Waterman came to UTM in order to arrange, teach and play music. He got more than what he bargained for.
“I love UTM,” Waterman said. “The students that I get to teach are wonderful. We have a family here. The faculty that I get to work with every day is even better.
“I’ve lived in big cities and I’ve done all that jazz. The campus and the city of Martin, itself, is cozy and feels like home.”
