New Music On the Block: West Broward’s new band director, Joshua Bishop, has exciting new plans for the upcoming years

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CAPABLE CONDUCTING: Joshua Bishop stands before his wind ensemble at their music performance
assessment, getting ready to conduct and lead them towards getting straight superiors. Photo Courtesy of Lina Puntervold.

By: Jaliyah Young

Joshua Bishop has come to West Broward to make a big difference, bringing his motivation and grit. He
shows dedication through his work and determination to succeed in any task. Whether it be directing a
marching band, conducting a concert band, or leading a WGI team to nationals.

Bishop was previously the Band Director at Nova High School for 16 years. He transferred to West
Broward during the 2024-2025 school year to take over after Calmer’s departure. Bishop wishes to make
West Broward’s band program bigger and better than it was before, and he has high hopes already.

“ I did 16 years at NOVA High School, which was fantastic. I enjoyed my time there, but coming here has
been very motivating seeing what I look at as a group has so much more growth and so much more
possibility to be where it is at currently.” said Bishop.

Prior to Bishop joining West Broward, Dean Calmer was the band director and had a long legacy. He
constantly led the band to first place at state and national competitions and was highly respected. By
virtue of Dean Calmer’s reputation, Joshua Bishop joined a school with high expectations for the band
program. He plans to continue Calmer’s traditions and legacy, while also surpassing it.

“I’m a big traditionalist. For instance we’re doing Mosaic and I think that’s a very important aspect of
what this program is. I want to continue the excellence that this program has had for many years, and not
only maintain it but also surpass it in any way that I can.” said Bishop.

In his earlier years, Bishop worked as a sergeant for the Marine Corps, played in the military band, was a
firefighter, a policeman, and was recruited for the FBI. Although his jobs were mainly in the first

responder industry, his passion was always music. Throughout his years as a policeman, he played in the
Albany Symphony Orchestra in Georgia and after moving to Florida, he became a band director. While at
Nova High School, Bishop helped the program earn straight superiors which is the highest score you can
receive at the statewide Music Performance Assessment, MPA. Prior to this, they had never received such
a high distinction.

“One of my friends told me, you’re a professional musician, you’ve been playing in professional orchestras. Why don’t you try teaching music? And here we are, almost 20 years later, I’ve been doing it, and I found that it was probably my path all along” Bishop said.

Once he joined West Broward, he made it a goal to continue the band’s years of excellence. He hired new
staff that he believed would help the organization and took the band to Bands of America (BOA), which
is a national competition where many talented marching bands compete. He did this to show the students strong competitors that could motivate them. After the marching band season, he diligently worked with the band to prepare for the MPA season, which was proven when the band earned straight superiors on all their pieces.

“I want to be able to take this group to heights that they haven’t seen before, do things that they never
would have thought would have been possible. I want to be able to push those bounds and do whatever
we can to give all these kids great experiences that they’ll remember for the rest of their life.” Bishop said.

Bishop’s plans to take the band to new levels. He wants to take the musical ensemble to BOA Grand
Nationals sometime in the near future as well as other competitions. As well as continuing to push his
students to new milestones and better possibilities. He wants to help students leave believing he did
whatever he could to give them lasting memories.

“I’m just trying to give everybody the best possible opportunities that we can. I want them to leave here
with the understanding and belief that I did whatever I could to give them the best experience possible.”
said Bishop