Dianne Vandergriff shakes the hand of Tim James during the dedication of the Perry D. Vandergriff Band Hall, Thursday night.

“Walk slow, breathe deep.” _ Perry Vandergriff

In an intimate ceremony Thursday evening, the band hall inside the school’s art center was dedicated to former East Ridge High School band director Perry D. Vandergriff.

Dianne Vandergriff, Perry’s widow, cut a ribbon in front of the double doors in the lobby beneath a bronze plaque memorializing the long-time band director.

Vandergriff died of a heart attack at the age of 56 last September.

Vandergriff took his undergraduate degree from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville where he marched in the Pride of the Southland Band, then a Masters from UT-Chattanooga. He had taught music and was the band director at East Ridge High School from 1993 to 2016.

“He would truly be honored that this was being done for him,” said Mrs. Vandergriff, surrounded by friends and family after the ceremony. “He loved his students.”

And without doubt his students – and many of the faculty – loved him.

Tim James, the school’s football coach, directed the dedication ceremony in the absence of the school’s principal. James said that he and Vandergriff were more than colleagues, they were friends. The rivalry that sometimes exists between football coaches and band directors was nowhere to be found in their relationship, he said. James said that his friend was a “true Pioneer,” and that he touched most everyone in which he came into contact.

James said that one of Vandergriff’s favorite sayings was this: “Walk slow, breathe deep.”

Some years ago, after a particularly painful loss on the football field, James said that Vandergriff came up to him and put his arm around him. “He said, ‘Coach, it’s just a football game.’ He had that kind of cool, California jazz mentality.

“He was a beautiful soul,” James said of his friend. “He had a passion for this community that makes it such a fitting honor to name this room for him,”

A clarinet ensemble made up of Payton Perry, Connor Smith, Casandra Miguel, Eduardo Castellanos and the new band director, Josh Clark, played beautiful versions of “The Entertainer,” “Galway Pipers” and “Danny Boy.”

James then led those gathered outside of the building to re-enter through the front doors into the lobby. Inside the lobby, art teacher Daine Norwich beamed as she showed those in attendance a beautiful mural that was designed, drafted and painted by her students. Perry Vandergriff’s profile was prominent in the music-themed mural with the text: “Music is Life … That’s why our Hearts have Beats.”

Dianne Vandergriff cut the ceremonial ribbon and reflected with well-wishers on her husband’s career in education and music. The Vandergiff’s daughter, McCaull, was close by, while their son, Jon-Michael, was unable to make the trip from his home in South Carolina. Both of the Vandergriff’s children studied music under their father’s guidance at the school.

A segment of the mural painted by students of East Ridge High School in the lobby outside the Perry D. Vandergriff Music Room.