Brothers Antonio and Antwan Altman have followed the same career path. Both are band directors at Meridian schools.

    Brothers Antonio and Antwan Altman have a deep love for all things music. So much so they both wound up working in the same profession as band directors.

    Antonio serves as the director of the Meridian High School band, while Antwan works in the same position at Northwest Middle School. In the evenings Antwan even helps Antonio as the assistant band director at Meridian High.

    The brothers’ career paths have striking similarities.

    “I started playing trombone at Magnolia Middle School, and then went to Northwest playing the same instrument, and then played here,” Antonio said. “Along the way I taught myself on the keyboard, and I got involved as a church musician.”

    Antonio said he had other plans while in college.      

    “I was studying to become an electrical engineer, but my passion continued pulling me back,” Antonio said. “I got my background in music at Meridian Community College. I was in MCC’s dimensions band. So it really began in church but really developed in college.”    

    Antwan, who is five years younger than Antonio, followed his brother’s lead, and learned to play the saxophone at Magnolia Middle School.

    “Eventually I started picking things up by ear and started playing in church when I was 15,” Antwan said. “So, I was at school learning how to read music but learned how to play by ear at church.”

    Like his older brother, Antwan also focused at first on electrical engineering in college.

    “I did that for four years and I was doing that on top of taking music classes, going back and forth,” Antwan said. “It was going to take me more than four years to finish. My fifth year I decided to completely focus on music as a career.    

    “My degree was jazz studies and what that taught me was even more of that ear training. It taught me how to lead a jazz band, and that really helped me out when leading this middle school band. I teach my students how to read music, but I also teach them how to play by ear, which is something I never learned from my band directors growing up.”

    Both brothers said they are proud of their band students and what they have accomplished.     

    “I would love for the Northwest band to be more recognized because they work so hard,” Antwan said. “I think all the Meridian schools could be recognized more for that hard work.”    

    Antonio agreed and said he would love to have the Meridian High School band’s music professionally recorded and sold as a fundraiser.

    “We have a rock band, jazz band and concert bands — just everything,” Antonio said. “I just think it would be great to offer a professional recording at the high school level.”