Local 'music man' wins vocal scholarship, part in show

ASHLAND Noah Brand hasn’t attended class at the University of Southern Mississippi yet, but he’s already got a part in a theatrical production there.

Not only will the tenor have a full voice scholarship when he attends the school in Hattiesburg, he will play Tommy Djilas, which is a physically strenuous role and includes solos, in “The Music Man.”

“Because I’m young, I will double as certain members of the ensemble,” Brand, 18, said. “It’s going to be a good first experience.”

The school alerted students to the production, so Brand found a couple of karaoke songs and recorded them in the music room at Russell Middle School, which he submitted along with a head shot. A week later, he learned he’d earned a part.

He noticed six freshmen land lead roles in the production, all with whom he will share a voice teacher at USM.

The role will be far from the first for Brand, who graduated from Russell High School in May. In fact, he first appeared on stage when he was 4 — and even had a solo — in a college production. He’s performed with the Paramount Players in “High School Musical,” “High School Musical 2,” “The Rocky Horror Picture Show,” “Descendants,” “Junie B. Jones,” “The Little Mermaid” and “Freaky Friday Jr.” He also performed in “Jacob Marley’s Christmas Carol” in Portsmouth, a story told from Ebenezer Scrooge’s dead partner’s perspective.

In addition to performing in the All-State Choir for four years, he has had small roles in a few movies: “The Boogeyman,” “Half Baked: Totally High” and “Adam the First.”

Brand might have inherited some talent in the arts. His father, Todd, was the dean of the fine arts department at Meridian Community College in Mississippi before becoming the dean of academic affairs at Ashland Community and Technical College. Dr. Todd Brand is currently interim president of Big Sandy Technical College in Prestonsburg. He also has directed and appeared on stage. Noah’s mother, Amy, used to sing in her church choir. Brand is following in his brother Eli’s footsteps by attending USM and in choosing his course of study.

Todd Brand said he and his wife have mixed feelings about their son’s college career.

“It’s a little scary because he’ll be so far away, but he’s going back to where we’re from and there will be plenty of family around. ... That gives me a lot of comfort,” Todd Brand said. The family moved to the Ashland area in 2019.

Brand plans to work toward a bachelor of arts degree in voice and a bachelor of science in nursing. He also hopes to earn the associate’s degree he’s nearly finished with via ACTC.

He’s already had a taste of higher education. During a visit to USM, his soon-to-be teacher invited him to sit in on a class.

“Her words were, ‘Well, do you want to sing for us?’ The class had every level of student, from freshman to graduate. I had prepared ‘This Is The Moment’ from ‘Jekyll and Hyde.’ I used it for applying for the vocal scholarship.”

He said received lots of support and even a few harsh remarks.

“She lets students grill each other, so that was a really nice experience,” Brand said. “I never had a class like that.”

“The Music Man” will be presented Oct. 20 through Nov. 3 at Southern Miss.