Baldwin High School hosted the Central Middle Georgia’s District Honor Band for a community-wide concert last month.
The Central Middle Georgia area district has two middle school honor bands, one ninth-and tenth-grade honor band and one eleventh-and twelfth-grade honor band. The band hosts young musicians from across middle Georgia of the utmost talent to perform a concert annually. These students have approximately two days to practice and perform a concert for the community once the date is selected.
“Our band district covers most of the central Georgia area. In the entire state there are about 14 districts,” said James McMillan, Baldwin High School band director.
“The honor band concert features the best musicians throughout the district who were nominated to audition in early December and picked from that selective group.”
According to McMillan, the audition process is created to show the extent of a student’s skills with their music and instrument. The audition consists of scales, a prepared piece, sight reading and more.
Students with the highest scores are then selected to perform in the district band.
“Baldwin High School has been the host site for the last several years. We are the host due to location and because of our facilities,” said McMillan.
“We are one of few places that can host four honor bands simultaneously.”
The concert featured all four bands simultaneously with a diverse range of musical genres, from classical to contemporary pieces. According to McMillan, the students showcased their talent by seamlessly transitioning from one piece to another and a memorable show that “blew audiences away.”
“I think the band is about more than teaching music and helps to build life skills. Honor band, in particular, gives the opportunity to students to connect and play the music that they may not have offered in their own schools,” said McMillan.
“It helps to introduce students to a wider range of music and builds on both their music skills and other skills such as time management, socialization, and more. That is what makes the concert such an honor.”
Baldwin County had about 13 students in the honor band. According to McMillan, one student was selected from the middle school level, and between 10-12 were selected from the high school level. In the entire honor band, Baldwin High School typically hosts 350-400 students from across middle Georgia.
“Throughout the entire day, we had around 1,000 people who cycled through our auditorium to watch the main performances. That is incredible considering these students had only a few hours of rehearsal before they performed,” said McMillan.
Fine Arts Education is a very important part of the Baldwin County School District (BCSD). With the support of Baldwin County Superintendent Dr. Noris Price, McMillan expressed that the band program continues to grow and nurture wonderful talent. BCSD also has shown great support for the District Honor Band students on their Facebook page and on the Baldwin Beat, their news website.
“Honor Band featured the incredible talent and hard work of these young musicians, and it was a testament to the power of music to bring people together. The students, the conductors, teachers, and everyone involved in this event should be incredibly proud of their achievements,” wrote Eric Jones, school & community relations coordinator, in his March 2 article for the Baldwin Beat. “The Baldwin High School Honor Band has set the bar high for future performances, and we can't wait to see what they have in store next.”