JCCHS band wins national music festival
THE JACKSON COUNTY Comprehensive High School Band won the Southern Star Music Festival held March 30 - 31 in Atlanta.
The band performed in the Southern Star Festival as a part of its bi-annual spring tour. The Southern Star was a national event where middle school and high school bands from throughout the United States performed for a panel of judges to receive comments, a performance rating, and a numerical score.
The JCCHS Band received a score of 93, which placed them in the Gold Division and earned the Sweepstakes Award for having the highest score in the festival.
Band Director Miles Adams states: “We’re really proud of our students for their performance in the Southern Star Festival. That particular band was a combined group made up of students who participated in the spring trip from all three of our band classes. While they worked on the music in their respective classes, we only had two rehearsals with the combined band. For that group to earn a Gold Division rating and actually win the entire festival is a huge testament to their musicianship. Two of the judges were Dr. David Gregory, Director of Bands at Reinhardt University and Past President of the National Band Association and Alfred Watkins, Band Director at Lassiter High School in Cobb County, a two time Bands of America National Champion and arguably one of the finest high school bands in the country. For those gentlemen to score us that highly is truly an honor for our students.”
After their performance in Atlanta, the band traveled to Florida, visiting Busch Gardens in Tampa, the Ringling Brothers Circus Museum in Sarasota, the Henry Ford and Thomas Edison Museums in Ft. Myers, and several historical, cultural, and tourist attractions in Key West.
Miles and Helen Adams are band directors for JCCHS.
The JCCHS Band received a score of 93, which placed them in the Gold Division and earned the Sweepstakes Award for having the highest score in the festival.
Band Director Miles Adams states: “We’re really proud of our students for their performance in the Southern Star Festival. That particular band was a combined group made up of students who participated in the spring trip from all three of our band classes. While they worked on the music in their respective classes, we only had two rehearsals with the combined band. For that group to earn a Gold Division rating and actually win the entire festival is a huge testament to their musicianship. Two of the judges were Dr. David Gregory, Director of Bands at Reinhardt University and Past President of the National Band Association and Alfred Watkins, Band Director at Lassiter High School in Cobb County, a two time Bands of America National Champion and arguably one of the finest high school bands in the country. For those gentlemen to score us that highly is truly an honor for our students.”
After their performance in Atlanta, the band traveled to Florida, visiting Busch Gardens in Tampa, the Ringling Brothers Circus Museum in Sarasota, the Henry Ford and Thomas Edison Museums in Ft. Myers, and several historical, cultural, and tourist attractions in Key West.
Miles and Helen Adams are band directors for JCCHS.
Samantha (Armbruster) Faulds