Walking into the office of J. Corey Francis in the lowest level of the Doudna Fine Arts Center, it would be easy to figure out his passion for music.

Instrument cases litter the ground of Eastern’s assistant director of bands — a piano also rests along a wall in Francis’ office, while his desk is buried with music books, both that he has created and is teaching.

But, growing up in Madisonville, Ky., the inspiration for wanting to teach music all started at the district band competition during his freshman year, when he was a member of the Madisonville North High School marching band.

Francis said all the school bands from the district came together to compete. The band members with the highest scores were selected to an honor group and that played together for a weekend.

As a member of the freshman/sophomore band, Francis sat back and listened to the 11th and 12th grade band play.

“They played this piece by Daniel Bukvich, ‘Symphony No. 1 In Memoriam of Dresden,’ and it stuck with me — the power of that piece,” Francis said. “That’s when I knew I wanted to be a music teacher and be in front of the ensemble and work on that side of music. That’s the moment I said, ‘I want to do this for a long time.’”

And he has.

After graduating from Murray State University in 2002, where he completed his bachelor’s degree in music education, Francis earned a master’s degree in wind band conducting from Georgia State University. Francis also has a doctorate in musical arts from the University of Southern Mississippi.

Before arriving to Eastern in 2012, Francis served as director of athletic bands at Indiana State University and at Georgia State he was the director of pep bands.

But his love of music started in his home in Kentucky, where Francis got a taste of the West Coast, through some bonding time with his father, Jim.

“I remember my dad, when I was younger, would play records of lots of different musicians,” Francis said. “We’d hear Dave Brubeck, Stan Getz and jazz artists from the West Coast. He loved those guys, Brubeck, Stan Getz, Oscar Peterson, a lot of those guys.”

Like every other kid in elementary school, Francis played the recorder, but while listening to records with his dad he discovered a new interest.

“I guess that influence of hearing Paul Desmond, the saxophonist and Stan Getz, another saxophonist, that really got me interested in playing saxophone,” he said.

In the sixth grade, Francis first picked up a saxophone and began to play, sitting down and opening a music book to learn how to play songs.

“I tinkered on a piano before that, but saxophone was my first real instrument,” Francis said.

Francis had a Yamaha student book, with music inside, which he used to learn “Hot Cross Buns” along with every other song available inside.

His father played the guitar, but never when Francis was growing up, so he never developed an interest for it. Though his father did play a big role in Francis’ music interest.

“He had the guitar in the case, but had never really played it much when I was younger,” Francis said. “So, it was more of hearing those records that he would play that drew my attention to saxophone. Other than that there was really no other influence. We just listened to music.”

At the age of 10 or 11, Francis began to learn more and more playing the saxophone, but if it wasn’t for his instructors that passion could have died off.

“I just really enjoyed it,” he said. ‘I had really good teachers in middle school and high school. The more I did, the more I improved and the more they gave me, I felt really good about it.”

During his days at Madisonville North High School, Francis and the rest of the marching band’s saxophone section would get together and create their own groups and play for the love of the music.

Still today, Francis remembers those memories fondly.

“It was just so much fun because one, I’m around my friends and it was something we all enjoyed doing; but two, it was just a great outlet for me,” he said.

Francis played in different sports growing up in Kentucky, including football, but there wasn’t anything like the marching band that gave him the same kind of excitement.

“Sports was fun, but it just wasn’t my thing,” he said. “When I started doing marching band in high school and being around that competitive atmosphere, but also the social atmosphere, it really brought a lot of energy and excitement for me.”

It stuck. Francis was in love with the band, the people in it and the music. He was also very fortunate.

During his senior year of high school, Francis was able to march in President Bill Clinton’s second inauguration. He also marched in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade.

Yet, Francis said the most fun he ever had at Madisonville North, while in the band, was marching in the state championships during his sophomore year at the football stadium at Eastern Kentucky University.

“It was the first time I performed in front of a full stadium,” he said.

Francis had become accustomed to performing in high school stadiums, where the seating was never too overwhelming.

“You see these high school stadiums, they’re kind of small,” Francis said.

His band played in front of a capacity of 20,000 people at Roy Kidd Stadium in Richmond, Ky.

“The front side was full of people and there were people on the hill on the right-hand side of the field,” Francis said. “There was just all this energy all over the place. It was so amazing just being able to go out there and hear the people cheering and they’re really in to your performance.”

Since 2012, Francis has been on the other side, directing Eastern’s bands at the school’s football and basketball games. But it hasn’t always been easy for Francis and the students that he leads.

During the Eastern football team’s run in the 2013 FCS Playoffs, the Panther Marching Band had to perform in frigid temperatures without the best protection.

“Last year, we had those games in the cold and we didn’t have any parkas; we didn’t have any heavier coats for the entire group,” Francis said. “So, after the first playoff game, after being as brutally cold as it was, the next day I went up to my chair and said, ‘We have got to have these parkas,’ and so we ordered 100.”

The high on Dec. 7, 2013, in Charleston was 22 degrees at O’Brien Field.

Yet, Francis wouldn’t have it any other way. During his time in Atlanta, where he was with Georgia State and in Terre Haute, Ind., where he was most recently, with Indiana State, he said the school’s had their own identities, but nothing can compare to the people that he is around at Eastern.

“This has been my favorite, though, because of the positive energy and positive attitude that’s around the faculty, the students, and then also the community as well,” Francis said. “I mean, I could walk from (Doudna) over to the Union for some lunch and walk into President Perry and he stops and talks with me. You don’t get that everywhere.”

Sitting behind his desk, Francis has a clear view of an autographed picture of former Indianapolis Colts quarterback and current Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning. Most people that know Francis are aware of his fandom of the Colts and the Chicago Cubs.

Raised in Kentucky, he was always a huge basketball fan, but he was also into gymnastics.

“In a galaxy far, far away, I was involved with gymnastics,” Francis said. “Before I ever got involved with music I did some gymnastics and even some swimming.”

Don’t look too closely, though, there isn’t a photo of a young Francis in a leotard in his office.

Aldo Soto can be reached at 581-2812 or [email protected].