Most students don’t know about the band program here at Lake Shore, let alone who the brand-new director is and how he got here. The new director was named Greg Alter Jr.

Alter came in after four days of panic, anger, and adversity as the previous director resigned just 2 days before the 2023 marching band season was set to kick into gear.

Alter grew up and has spent his whole life in the shores graduating from Lake Shore in 2015. Alter was heavily a part of the band program when in high school stating, “I was in the symphonic band, wind ensemble, jazz ensemble, the marching band, and I was a section leader.”

Following graduation, Alter said, “I didn’t know what I wanted to do with my life.”

He eventually pursued a degree at Wayne State University, where he would spend his next four years.

“At orientation, I met the director of bands so I joined and did two years with the marching band,” stated Alter.

After doing two years in the marching band, Alter became the drum major for his last three. Alter said, “That’s when I decided to become a music education student which I knew was a gamble at the time.”

After doing student teaching in Grosse Pointe Public School and Livonia Public Schools, Alter was hired and became the director of bands at Lincoln Middle and High Schools. Alter stated, “After a year of that and a lot of success, I was approached, applied, and interviewed by Lake Shore High School.”

Coming into the program, Alter didn’t know what to expect and faced some challenges along the way stating, “The biggest challenge was shifting the culture of the band to how I think the band program here at Lake Shore should be with the level of commitment and grit it takes to be a successful musician.”

Alter shared one of his favorite memories from this year’s marching season saying, “Standing up in the bleachers at Troy Athens High School and hearing the Marching Shorians get the Division one Superior Rating and watching everyone cheer and hold the trophy as a first-year director was amazing.”