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Charger band marches to victory
 | | The Bath County High School band marched toward victory at the 20th annual Stonewall Showcase of Bands in Staunton as the trumpet section (right) stood tall on the bandstand, flanked by the saxophones (left), while drummer Andrew Lacks (center) leads the show. |
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STAUNTON - The Bath County High School Band competed in the Stonewall Brigade Band Competition last Saturday, Sept. 29, marching itself right up to top honors. The competition took place at Gypsy Hill Park in Staunton; 14 area high schools competed in four different classifications.
While the BCHS band competes athletically as a Single A school, because of the band's large size, it competes musically in the AA class. The band has 70 members including the color guard, with 60 musicians.
The school made BCHS history when it received superior ratings across the board in music, marching, general effect, drum major, percussion and color guard.
In their AA Class, the percussion and color guard sections secured first-place trophies, with drum major Samantha Whitson showing superior leadership. Regarding Whitson, the drum major judge remarked, "Super job, and great control and knowledge of the show."
 | | As drum major Samantha Whitson directs the band, George Miller plays the marimba, with the color guard and their flags dancing to the beat behind them. |
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Double A class bands BCHS out-scored included Fort Defiance, Heritage, Robert E. Lee, and Stuarts Draft. The band also ranked high against the other 14 bands that performed at the competition. In the overall ranking, BCHS percussion ranked first place, its color guard ranked second place, and the drum major ranked third place.
Bob Moody, director of the Stonewall Brigade Band, had the following to say about the BCHS band: "Special congratulations go out to Bath County High School Band. They had fourth highest overall band score and the highest percussion score of the day. This is an enormous accomplishment for a school that includes only 333 students ... in grades 8- 12 in a rural county divided by mountains. They were the fifthlargest band at the Showcase, eclipsing many schools with far greater enrollment."
 | | Receiving either section or individual trophies were (l-r) front: drum major Samantha Whitson and band captain Laura Schneider; back: flag captain Morgan Lindsay, drum line captains Angela Ryder and Andrew Lacks, and band captains Blake Reese and Tony Walters. (Photos courtesy Pat Whitson) |
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BCHS band director Melinda Hooker is very proud. "The band members and parents have worked so hard to bring this show together," she said. "We've strived for a superior rating in marching band for a long time; we finally did it!"
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