03/28/12 — All-County Band concert to be held Thursday

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All-County Band concert to be held Thursday

By From staff reports
Published in News on March 28, 2012 1:46 PM

Approximately 120 band members from Wayne County Public Schools will soon come together Thursday for the 2012 All-County Band Festival at 7 p.m. at Dillard Middle School.

For weeks, band directors across the county have been preparing students for this event. Two guest conductors will direct the middle and high school bands at the free concert, which is open to the public.

The annual event is an opportunity to showcase their musical talents, officials said.

"The All County Band Festival is a wonderful enrichment opportunity for our schools. We appreciate all of the hard work and preparation that the participating students and band directors put into this event in order to master the various songs and put on a great show," said Dr. Steven Taylor, WCPS Superintendent.

Musical selections this year include "A Song of Hope," "Aliens Landing (in your back yard)," "Crazy for Cartoons," "Down a Country Lane" and "Salute the Duke."

Conducting the middle school band students will be Kyle Auman, a retired music educator from Guilford County Schools. The high school conductor is professor H. Wade Johnson, director of bands at Lincoln University in Pennsylvania.

Band directors locally include Jerome Powers of Brogden Middle, Ledford Wilson of Eastern Wayne Middle, Ryan Spell of Greenwood Middle, Daryl Richardson of Dillard Middle, Jonathan Jones of Grantham Middle, Cindy Grant of Mount Olive Middle, Kimberley Benson of Norwayne Middle, Melissa Riser of Rosewood Middle, Samantha Heath of Spring Creek Middle, Michael Palmer of Charles B. Aycock High, Tyrone Wagner of Eastern Wayne High, Janet Barnes of Goldsboro High, Melissa Riser of Rosewood High, Cindy Grant of Southern Wayne High and Timothy Heath of Spring Creek High.

Rick Pridgen, Board of Education member, will serve as master of ceremonies for the event.