Armstrong enjoys many outdoor activities including hiking.

   Erin Armstrong has hiked gigantic volcanoes, performed on the U.S.S Missouri, snorkeled in the beautiful bays of Hawaii, and traveled all around the country through band. 

    This year, Armstrong hopes to bring school spirit and the same unique experience she had with band to Trinity Prep as the new instrumental music director.  

   “I hope to show them [students] that band can lead to a lot of different things,” Armstrong said. It can be an outlet for you whether you’re in band, because it’s an escape from all of your harder academic classes, or some people are in band because they’re really focused on it.” 

   Armstrong went to college at Jacksonville State University, where she earned her bachelor’s and master’s degree in music education. After college, she taught at Ardmore High School in Alabama for a year as band director before moving to Florida with her husband, Matthew, and cat, Georgia. 

   “I love it so far,” Armstrong said. “ It’s really hot. Y’all have a lot of lizards, but I love it so far. It’s really cool.”

   Now Armstrong is part of the fine arts department, where she pursues her passion in teaching middle and high school students about instruments. 

   “The amazing thing about middle school is when students get that aha moment, of going from sounding like a squeaking duck to oh my gosh, I finally got that note,” Armstrong said. “What’s really amazing about teaching middle school and high school specifically is getting to watch them go from making sounds to actually making music” 

   Armstrong joined band in middle school with no prior experience where she fell in love with the oboe and many more instruments. The fun experiences she had in band at school attributed to Armstrong’s love of teaching band. 

   “The main thing I love about teaching music, and band in general, is all the opportunities,” Armstrong said. There are so many opportunities to travel and perform, and I just want my students to be able to have all of the amazing things I had growing up plus some.”

   Besides playing instruments, Armstrong enjoys traveling, hiking, painting, and reading. She was able to fulfill a lot of her hobbies while also busy in band. One occasion was when Armstrong traveled to Hawaii to perform at the 75th anniversary of the Pearl Harbor attacks. 

   “While we were there, we hiked Diamondhead, which is the huge volcano in Hawaii,” Armstrong said.”We also went snorkeling at Hanauma  Bay, so that was really cool.”

   Armstrong plans to expand the band and create a more diverse program. Her goal is to eventually create a pep band to play along with the drumline at pep rallies, football games, or even at basketball games. 

   “I think that would be really fun to be able to have that and kind of build some school spirit,” Armstrong said. 

   At the end of the day, Armstrong’s main goal is to show Trinity Prep saints the fun and the many opportunities found in band. 

   “I hope to bring the students just kind of fresh life into the band program,” Armstrong said. “I hope to show them that band can be more than just sitting in the room and playing. I hope to eventually show them that they can travel and perform and experience all these different things.”