TUPELO - For Juanita Smith, the band plays on and on and on.

With three children in band, the Tupelo mom has put in countless hours volunteering for the Region I Marching Band Festival, serving up snacks at the concession stand and chaperoning with the Tupelo High School band boosters.

"This is my sixth year as a band parent," said Juanita Smith, who serves as an interventionist at Thomas Street Elementary. "We're always on the go."

But the band was a major part of Juanita Smith's life long before the birth of her oldest daughter Lillie - who now plays piccolo in the Mississippi State University marching band.

Juanita Smith's musical career started with the Hamilton School band. She considered opting for the saxophone, but ended up choosing the more lady-like flute.

Smith said she didn't have any inborn talent that drew her to play an instrument.

"I wasn't musical," Smith said, "but I wanted to play in the band."

She was eager for the challenge of playing and performing.

"I was amazed at how they learned," Smith said. "I went from listening and watching to performing."

Music also played matchmaker for the Smiths. Juanita and husband Johnny met while playing in the band at Itawamba Community College.

Johnny Smith kept playing when he transferred to Jackson State University. Juanita let her performing days go to focus on her business administration studies.

"I haven't played in years," Juanita said. "But I still have an appreciation for music."

She said music has been a wonderful legacy to share with her children, because it stretches the mind beyond just learning an instrument. The marching competitions add dedication, discipline and a healthy dose of physical activity.

"We didn't push any of our kids," Juanita Smith said, but she and her husband did talk about band as a positive experience.

Oldest daughter Lillie started with the flute, before moving to piccolo in college.

"It is funny that she chose the flute," Juanita said, but Lillie hasn't directly said she chose the instrument because of her mom.

Johnny Jr., who is in 10th grade at Tupelo High School, plays the saxophone. Jamie, who is in eighth grade at Tupelo Middle School, followed in dad's musical footsteps and picked up the trumpet.

"As long as our kids are in school," she and husband Johnny will be band boosters, Juanita said. "We want to be great supports of our kids and the school."

michaela.morris@journalinc.com