It could be said that love brought new Flathead High School Band Director David Johnke to Kalispell.

Johnke, 41, is in his 16th year teaching and his first year as band director at Flathead High School.

He joins the Flathead staff from Havre High School, where he taught the past 11 years and kept busy with three concert bands along with symphonic, marching, pep and jazz bands.

“So I was pretty established there. It was pretty tough to leave, very tough on the kids,” Johnke said.

Yet Kalispell was not far from where his fiancée, Nicole Sanford, lived. She also teaches music and is a faculty member at Flathead Valley Community College.

After years as colleagues, then friends, then a couple, the pair began making four-and-a-half-hour weekend commutes to visit each other for more than a year when as chance would have it, the Flathead position became available.

“I applied for it and we both had the understanding if it’s not a good fit don’t take it and if it is a good fit take it,” Johnke said. “I came over here and interviewed and as I walked through the door I just knew, I just knew this felt right. The interview went great. I got the call. They wanted to offer the job and I said yes.”

Then it was Sanford’s turn to say yes.

“After I accepted the job I finally proposed to her,” Johnke said.

His leaving Havre after more than a decade mirrors the situation at Flathead, where Johnke replaced Band Director Allen Slater, who retired after 28 years at the high school.

“He made sure this transition was as smooth as possible by preparing students for the change,” Johnke said.

Johnke knows he has “big shoes to fill” and is up to the task.

“Band is like a coaching position. You have to earn the respect of new kids — show that you are competent in your position. A lot of things will be done differently from the person you followed, while a lot is the same. As a teacher it’s about finding balance,” Johnke said. “By and large students on your side want you to succeed and they want to succeed.”

When it comes to teaching music, Johnke focuses on the fundamentals, even during warm-up.

“Playing with good tone, intonation — I’m a stickler for articulation,” he said smiling. “A clean warm-up carries over into everything they play.”

One of Johnke’s goals at Flathead is to build the marching band program. In his past position he had developed a marching band that traveled to Washington, D.C.

“I want to get a marching band camp started. There are a number of students very interested in it. I’d like to see this marching band travel more because there are no competitions in Montana,” Johnke said.

He knows it will take several years to form a solid, competitive marching band.

“I want students to see it’s worthwhile,” he added.

While he has a goal for a marching band, his philosophy is to treat all types of band with equal attention.

“I like to treat them all equally because you need to have equal quality in all areas,” he said. “Not everybody goes to concerts. A lot more go to athletic events and they see our groups perform and you gain that sort of following and respect of your community. You need to put out a quality product in every public event that you’re in, and that’s always been my philosophy and something I try to extend to the students.”

While it’s a lot of work, it’s worth it, he said.

“In the end it pays back because then all the students respect and appreciate every single genre within the band, they respect jazz band, they respect pep band, they respect marching band even if it’s not their favorite part of being in band,” he said.

Johnke first learned how to play an instrument from his mother, who served as his music teacher from fifth through seventh grade. It wasn’t until college, though, when he taught his first private music lesson to a seventh-grader that he decided teaching would be his lifelong gig.

The first three-and-a-half years of attending Montana State University in Bozeman Johnke took general studies, dabbling in everything from agriculture and art to chemistry.

“... But I was most involved in music. I was basically there because I wanted to take private lessons on trumpet and I wanted to play in band,” he recalled.

He finally decided to major in music performance.

“Out of desperation for money, I was going to try teaching this kid. I knew everything I needed to know about playing trumpet; I thought this is going to be easy,” he said.

He came to a revelation — teaching someone how to play an instrument was more complex than he thought. Just knowing and playing an instrument wouldn’t pass muster.

“During the week in between his lessons I learned a lot more about how to teach it and I really enjoyed it because I learned a lot more about the subject,” he said. “When he came back for his next lesson I was able to teach him better and I got really on fire about it.”

Johnke changed his major to teaching and hasn’t looked back.

“Going back to my past, I worked really well with kids — vacation Bible school, I was a teacher aide in high school. My parents were always encouraging me to go into teaching,” Johnke said.

He said the school year so far has gone well.

“I’m just excited about getting organized, letting the dust settle. The kids have been great — very patient. The staff here are very, very positive and my predecessor is a wonderful resource,” Johnke said.

When he isn’t in the band room he loves to hike, camp, attend concerts and listen to funk music. Eventually he would like to go back to his hobby — “model railroading, which is kind of nerdy, but I love that,” Johnke said. “It’s very therapeutic and relaxing.”

Reporter Hilary Matheson may be reached at 758-4431 or hmatheson@dailyinterlake.com.