New Choral & Theatre teacher – Kenneth Basham
Kenny Basham, the new HCMS/HCHS Choral & Theatre Teacher, and his wife Sarah.
Kenneth “Kenny” Basham will be the new Hancock County Middle and High School Choral & Theatre Teacher beginning in fall for the ‘24/’25 School Year. The current teacher, Melanie Adkins, has worked for 20 years in the public school system and 5 years in the private school system, as well as teaching private voice and piano for 13 years. After 38 years of teaching music, she said she has decided it is time to retire.
Kenny grew up in Hawesville and is the son of Gerald & Kristine Basham. He graduated from HCHS in 2010, and then earned his Bachelor’s in Music Education at Kentucky Wesleyan College (KWC), with an emphasis in Vocal Performance, and a minor in Piano.
“Melanie was my music director and was the one that started my career in music, aside from my parents,” Kenny said. “My dad was really the ignitor on that, but she’s the one that cultivated the talent and it went from there. I cannot remember a time that my family and I weren’t doing music. My dad, my brothers, myself, and my sister sometimes, we would all go around and play at several churches.
We played just in the back yard as well. That’s where I started learning guitar. I sang duets with my brother, Anthony. We started learning piano together. It really wasn’t just one person that started it, it was the whole family, and then Melanie cultivated it.
Our home church was Safe Harbor in Pellville, and we played a lot there (Larry & Monie Sosh are pastors there). That’s where I cultivated my drumming skills and played piano with Larry. He’s an amazing pianist.”
For the last 10 years, Kenny has been an elementary school music teacher, at Sorgho Elementary and West Louisville Elementary, in Daviess County. “I’ve done countless programs,” he said. “I’ve had 100s of students and I have loved every minute of those 10 years, but it’s time for me to move back home and take over for the music teacher that started it all for me.
I have big shoes to fill. Melanie Adkins has carried this program for 20 years and has really built it into something special. It’s my intention to take that something special and make it even better. Moving back to Hancock County means moving closer to my family. I’m really excited about furthering what I do now and bringing my talents back home.”
Kenny was very active in musicals while attending HCHS, and said that he carried that love of theatre over to college. He was in 3 musicals while at KWC, specifically with Theatre Workshop of Owensboro (TWO). He plays piano for TWO and has continued to be actively involved with them every year since.
“I started taking piano lessons from Carolyn Kinsey,” he said, “the music teacher at Breckinridge County. I really excelled when I got to college and started taking piano lessons from Dr. Diane Earl, the Professor of Music at KWC. She has played in countless countries. She’s just a fantastic pianist. She plays for the (Owensboro) Symphony Orchestra. She was my instructor for 5 years. I took private voice lessons in college, and also taught piano lessons and private voice lessons.”
He is on the Worship Team at his church, Pleasant Valley Community Church, in Daviess county, and plays piano, guitar and has helped out with the youth program there for awhile now. He was also the Youth Director for a middle & high school program at Ignite 360 Church for 8 years.
“I might not have directed any theatre programs necessarily, other than the ones in elementary school,” he said. “I have written most of the ones for my elementary school programs. I will say that I absolutely love putting on programs for people and making them happy. I do all of the technical side. I’m very involved in the technical side for our church and school – sound, lighting, video editing, all of it.
It is my intention to get Hancock County known in the community, farther than just a concert. I’ll be recording most of the songs that we do, that we might not perform, so that parents and families can listen to ALL of the amazing things that they’re doing in the classroom – more than just at concert night.”
He said that his style of teaching is very energetic. “I’m just really excited about it,” Kenny added. “I’m anxious to get started. I’ve already started packing up and moving stuff over there. I build a lot of relationships with the kids and we have a lot of fun.
To me, music is both challenging and fun. Kids don’t go to choir to be bored; They go to choir because they love singing songs that they love. So it’s my goal when I take over the program, to do challenging music that ignites their creative spirits and minds, but also to do fun music that the audience will enjoy, that my students will enjoy, and that I will enjoy.”
Kenny and his wife, Sarah, will be moving closer to Hancock County soon. She is a Loan Officer at US Bank, in Owensboro, and they’ll likely be moving to Maceo, he said, so that they will still be close to her work and also be near to his new job at HCHS. They also run a DJ business together – K & S DJ Services, based in Owensboro, and have DJed many elementary school dances. He said they are hoping to DJ some school dances in Hancock County, and other functions soon.
By Jennifer Wimmer
