New mural transforms USN band room
Students visiting USN’s band room will be in for a colorful treat thanks to a new mural that fuses years of faculty talent and connects the athletics and arts programs.
By Ian Dinkins, Assistant Director of Marketing and Communications and Juanita I.C. Traughber, Director of Marketing & Communications
A wall in the University School of Nashville’s band room bursts with color and movement, featuring a new mural that visually echoes the vibrancy of the music played beneath it.
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A wall in the University School of Nashville’s band room bursts with color and movement, featuring a new mural that visually echoes the vibrancy of the music played beneath it.
Before leaving USN to be closer to his family in Maine, Band Director Kyle Barboza said he wanted to leave the band room with something that truly reflected the spirit of the program.
“Kyle felt that the gray walls didn’t encapsulate the energy and vibrancy of the band program,” explained Middle and High School Art Teacher Andy King, who painted the mural. “He envisioned something bright and bold that would bring life into the space in a unique and colorful way.”
The creative journey began during the 2000-2001 academic year when then-faculty member Jeff Goold fashioned the letters U, S, and N into a connected line that still reads as the school’s acronym when flipped upside down. Goold worked as the school’s Graphic Designer, Middle School Band Teacher, and Lacrosse Coach. The first application of the athletic logo was on boys lacrosse helmets.
“The athletic logo was created to identify and brand our sports teams. Up to that point, there was no unified look for our athletic teams,” Goold said in 2022, shortly before retiring after 26 years at the school. “The athletic logo has grown in use to become the school's casual logo, appearing in a variety of settings, including branded sportswear. [It has] become a common identifying mark in the community. Its simple and bold look is, through consistent usage, now recognized as the USN brand.”
Fast forward to 2025, when King presented digital mockups on his iPad to Barboza and Performing Arts Department Chair Miranda Vargo, who also teaches band. Both worked with Goold to teach students and have played on stage with him. Vargo had the idea of using the existing wall color as the lettering for USN’s athletic logo.
“When we discussed ways to build up the program culture, I knew the room needed some color,” said Vargo.
Also meaningful was the decision to use Barboza’s handwriting for the word "BAND." This personal touch helps immortalize his contribution to USN's music program and connects to the man who helped shape their artistic journeys.
Bringing the design to life was a bit of a technical challenge.
“Since I was painting acrylic over oil-based paint, I had to do extra steps to prepare the surface,” King said.
This involved sanding the wall, cleaning with a degreaser, and applying two coats of industrial-strength adhesive primer before any paint could touch the surface.
From there, he used a projector to display the logo onto adhesive vinyl, which he cut into a stencil directly on the wall. After applying the colorful base coat, King carefully peeled away the vinyl, revealing masked shapes underneath. He then alternated between refining the bold “color blobs” and sharpening the contrast with the neutral wall color.
The project is just one of many taking place at USN over Summer Break.
King expressed gratitude to the Operations Department for setting up the scaffolding that allowed him to reach the high spaces and complete the work safely.
“Without that scaffolding, I never could have done it,” he said.
At a place like USN, where performing and visual arts are both held in high esteem, the mural serves as an intersection between two disciplines that often inspire each other.
“Both forms of art force students' brains to work in different ways,” King said. “They exercise skills that aren’t always the focus of traditional academics. The arts are the soul of the school.”
The mural is more than a splash of color. It’s a tribute to community, collaboration, and the creativity for which USN is known.
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Edgehill Campus
2000 Edgehill Ave.
Nashville, TN 37212
Phone: 615-321-8000
Fax: 615-321-0889
Email: info@usn.org
River Campus
1200 County Hospital Road
Nashville, TN 37218
2000 Edgehill Ave.
Nashville, TN 37212
Phone: 615-321-8000
Fax: 615-321-0889
Email: info@usn.org
River Campus
1200 County Hospital Road
Nashville, TN 37218
USN Mission:
University School of Nashville models the best educational practices. In an environment that represents the cultural and ethnic composition of Metropolitan Nashville, USN fosters each student’s intellectual, artistic, and athletic potential, valuing and inspiring integrity, creative expression, a love of learning, and the pursuit of excellence.
University School of Nashville models the best educational practices. In an environment that represents the cultural and ethnic composition of Metropolitan Nashville, USN fosters each student’s intellectual, artistic, and athletic potential, valuing and inspiring integrity, creative expression, a love of learning, and the pursuit of excellence.