SIMS Band

Welcome to

SIMS Band!

The Stallings Island Band is a proud member of the Lakeside Bands Family which includes SIMS, Lakeside Middle and all the performing ensembles at Lakeside High School. It's through this collaboration that we find our greatest success and can create the best learning opportunities for our students. The SIMS Band Program and our curriculum is designed around the 7-year experience which takes students from their very first day in Beginning Band through their graduating year of high school. Our program begins in 6th grade, with Beginning Band. Students start on one of our four beginning instruments and spend half of their 6th grade year focused on the fundamentals of reading and performing music. In the spring semester, some students will begin the process of switching to our more specialized instruments. Performance opportunities both in school and outside of school really take off after that first year. In 7th grade (the second year of band), students have the opportunities to participate in more specialized performing ensembles including Pep Band, Jazz Band, and Chamber Groups. We are regular participants in our Georgia Music Educators Association events including; District Honor Band Auditions and Clinic Weekend, All-State Honor Band Auditions and Clinic Weekend, Beginning Honor Band Clinic, Annual Large Group Performance Evaluations and Solo and Ensemble Festival. Our 8th grade experience (the third year of band) is designed around bridging the gap between beginning/intermediate band and preparing students to be successful members and performers in the high school program at Lakeside High School.

In addition to our daily curriculum, the music programs at SIMS seek out additional community events for our students. The Band and Chorus programs have performed at local Elementary schools in the fall, taken trips to the Fox Theatre in Atlanta, GA to see Broadway productions, and regularly spend a day in the spring at Carowinds as participant in the Festival of Music, Performance Evaluations.

About Mrs. Norwood

Mrs. Norwood has served as band director at Stallings Island Middle School since 2016. A product of the Columbia County School System, she graduated from Greenbrier High School and remained in the Augusta area to earn her Bachelor of Music in Music Education from Augusta University and later received her Master of Music in Music Education from the University of Georgia. While at Augusta University, she held numerous leadership roles and earned several honors. After graduation she has remained an active collaborator with the AU Music Department assisting with the Summer Band/Music Camps, and returning as a guest lecturer for undergraduate methods courses.

Mrs. Norwood serves a very active role volunteering in leadership positions locally and statewide. She is an active member of the Georgia Music Educators Association previously serving as the Tenth District Chair and the current District Treasurer. She organizes several local GMEA events including the Middle School District and All-State Honor Band auditions and has been a part of several committees that have developed and enhanced materials and resources for music educators. She serves on her school’s leadership team, as the Columbia County School District Band Lead, and statewide as a member of the Georgia Department of Education Fine Arts Advisory Council.

An active performer, Mrs. Norwood plays with the Savannah River Winds flute section and as a guest performer throughout the Greater Augusta area. In 2018, she received the Golden Apple Award from WJBF and was named Stallings Island Middle School Teacher of the Year for 2026–2027.

Mr. Witmer, Mrs. Norwood, Mr. Best

Mr. Jared Best

Director of Bands, Lakeside High School

Mr. Best joined the Lakeside High School faculty in 2017. Prior to coming to Lakeside, Mr. Best was a graduate teaching assistant at Baylor University, where he arranged for and instructed the drum line and assisted with the operations of the Baylor band program. He was a member of Carolina Crown Drum & Bugle Corps from 2013 through 2014, completing two summer tours (the first concluding with Crown's first DCI Championship), a performance in the Disney Parks Christmas Day Parade on ABC, and performances and clinics in Japan.

Mr. Best completed a Bachelor of Music in Music Education at Furman University, where he served as band president and was voted Outstanding Senior Bandsman, and he earned his Master of Music in Percussion Performance at Baylor University, performing in the Baylor Percussion Group, Baylor Jazz Ensemble, and the internationally recognized Baylor Symphony Orchestra and Baylor Wind Ensemble. He has studied percussion with Dr. Omar Carmenates, Justin Watt, Dr. Todd Meehan, and Ivan Trevino, and has also studied arranging, composition, and jazz theory with Jay Bocook and Alex Parker. He is to Taylor Best, a graphic designer and photographer. They met in band at Nation Ford High School, where Taylor was a drum a major and Mr. Best was on percussion leadership.

Mr. Jonathan Witmer

Assistant Director of Bands, Lakeside High School

Mr. Witmer joined the Lakeside High School faculty in 2021. Prior to coming to Lakeside, Mr. Witmer was Associate Director of Bands at Clear Springs High School in League City, Texas, where he was in charge of the curriculum for the Symphonic Band and Concert Band as well as the percussion curriculum for grades 6 through 12 within the Clear Springs school zone. He was co-conductor of the Wind Ensemble, which was named a 2018 Foundation for Music Education Mark of Excellence Commended Winner for class AAAAA. Mr. Witmer was also founding director of the Clear Springs HS Indoor Drum Line, which placed in the top 10 in the state every year since its founding. While living in Houston, Mr. Witmer served as a guest clinician, adjudicator, or instructor and several local and regional band programs. Mr. Witmer was a member of Carolina Crown Drum & Bugle Corps in 2014.

Mr. Witmer graduated from the University of South Carolina with a Bachelor of Music in Music Education and a Performance Certificate. While at USC, he served drum captain in the marching band for two years, simultaneously working as a paid senior staff member his senior year. He completed his primary percussion studies with Dr. Scott Herring and conducting studies with Dr. Rebecca Philips and Dr. Steven Meyer.

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