Suzanne Stewart
Staff Writer
They say if you do what you love, you will never work a day in your life. That was the route Rachel Barb Allen took when it was time to decide what field of teaching she wanted to enter.
Allen remembers attending a college fair when she was a senior at Pocahontas County High School in 2000 where she talked with a representative from Shepherd College – her number one choice.
The rep gave her a card to fill out and that was the moment she made up her mind.
“I always knew I wanted to be a teacher,” Allen said. “I felt like default – teacher – always. I was looking at the list and all the majors you could check. I was like, ‘well what’s my favorite class of the day?’ Music has always been my favorite class, so why wouldn’t I want to be a music teacher, so I just checked music.”
That was the beginning of what was to become a career as a music teacher and internet influencer.
Allen hit the ground running with the help of then band teacher Ron Hall, who enthusiastically helped her prepare for Shepherd. Although she was dealing with a bad case of senioritis, Allen said she focused and buckled down.
“I wasn’t super driven, but I always knew I wanted to be a teacher because Coach [Delmos] Barb was my uncle and he and his wife [Terry], were such influences in my life,” she said. “My dad was a great teacher, as well. He taught skiing. He was just really good at things like that.”
Allen received her K through 12 instrumental music teaching degree and knew it might be difficult to find a job. Fortunately, she was recommended for a position as an assistant band director at a local high school.
“That’s the first job that I got because the guy called my college band director and I happened to be the name that he recommended,” she said. “I did high school for three years and then I’ve been in middle school for eighteen years.”
Allen said she enjoyed working with high school students but found that middle school was her spot. She loves working with students brand new to music and watching them flourish into talented musicians.
“I’m so glad that I did high school for three years because I got to enjoy a lot of the things that you get to do as a high school band director,” she said. “You get to have marching band. You have band camp. High school football games and competitions and getting to play harder music with kids. It’s a lot of work.
“The very first Friday I taught middle school, I didn’t have to work a seventeen hour day – I was thrilled because it’s exhausting,” she added.
Knowing that she wanted to settle down and start a family, Allen was happy to leave behind the hustle and bustle of teaching high school music.
At her middle school – Charles Town Middle School – she has a band for each grade, sixth, seventh and eighth. She also has a fifth-grade band at a nearby elementary school.
“Once I got into middle school, I fell in love because middle school band – there’s so much more teaching that goes on versus at the high school,” she said. “There’s so much teaching I get to do. When you’re in high school, there’s one band. I get to be with a different band every single period.”
Allen added that middle school students tend to be more excited about band because it’s their first time delving into playing music.
“The kids are so excited for the most part to be there because it’s one of their first times playing an instrument,” she said. “You get to watch them grow up. They come in little kids, and they leave young men and women.
“There’s so much about middle school that is so wonderful,” she continued. “One of my favorite things, and why I like middle school, is that middle school kids are underestimated – but I can get them to make beautiful music.”
Admittedly, Allen says she’s not the one getting them to make the music, she’s just guiding the musician to come out of them.
“It turns out, it’s them and they are the ones that are creating a product and the art,” she said. “Me getting to tell them that is one of my favorite parts of my job because, in the end, it’s not me. It’s them.”
All of Allen’s bands are concert bands, but they do have two major events in which they march – the Christmas parade and a summer parade in August.
For the summer parade, Allen’s students join other area middle school bands to make one big ensemble that marches through town, entertaining the crowd.
Allen attributes her success to her time in Pocahontas County, specifically in middle and high school band.
“I’m super thankful for the culture in band that was there at the time and how between [Lewis] Woodard who was my middle school band teacher and Mr. Hall, that instilled this life into me and made me think I could do it,” she said. “I’m grateful that there was a music program there.”
Allen has taken her teaching skills online and is an influencer under the name “Mrs. Allen.” She has thousands of followers on TikTok, YouTube, Instagram and Facebook.
On those platforms, she shares videos about what it’s like to be a middle school band teacher, gives instructions on specific instruments and just has a good time sharing her story.
“It’s changed my life,” she said. “I made videos because I was looking to connect with musicians and teachers.”
Allen is married to Ryan Allen, and the couple has two sons.
