Forty-four students from Thomas County Central High School participated in District Jazz and District Honor bands recently at Norman Park.
Friday and Saturday, Feb. 20-21, the students were led by notable band teachers, conductors and composers, who taught them new music that was presented in a concert on the last day. This year, students were directed by Marc Boensel from the Darton State College band and Quincy Hilliard from the University of Louisiana-Lafayette.
TCCHS was proud to send the “best of the nest” to represent Central in the Southwest District 2 area.
“I am very proud of all the students who auditioned and made it, and I think they enjoyed and learned a lot from this event,” assistant band director Paul Johns said.
In order to make district, band students were required to play 8-12 major scales, an etude and do a sight-reading exercise during auditions. A certain score had to be obtained by each student that participated in the event.
“I was the only percussionist that qualified to go, and I was honored to be selected,” TCCHS band student Justin Barfield said.
Students feel they were able to gain helpful knowledge through the different experiences.
“Honor band allows you to work on harder music than you normally would in class, getting it performance ready in a shorter time, which tests your musical capabilities,” student Sierra Stephens said.
TCCHS musicians were excited to meet students from other high schools who share their passion for music.
“Meeting and making friends with musicians from other schools and learning new music has been such an exciting experience,” senior Drum Major Charles Maggitas said.
Kids were also impressed with the turnout of the types of musicians at the event. The two-day program included different sections of the band in order to incorporate different types of music.
“District Honor Band is definitely a unique experience,” senior dazzler Anne-Marie Holland said. “You get to play with the best players from the high schools in the district and play music.”
At the end of the weekend, the ABAC band also held a performance for all the participants, which was inspirational for band members.
“My favorite part was listening to the ABAC concert band because you could see what you might become in the future,” Stephens said.