On Friday, May 15th, the West Rowan Jazz Band and Percussion Ensemble traveled to Hurley and Woodleaf Elementary Schools to perform for their EOG Kick-off Pep Rallies, help ease some fears about test taking, and even participated in a mass filming of the Hurley Elementary "E3 Express!"

The groundbreaking for the new Wallace Educational Forum (April 18th) began with a luncheon on North Lee Street.  The room was filled with school officials, financial contributors and distinguished guests enjoying their lunch as well as some music provided by senior Chase Webb and his alto saxophone.  Thanks to Chase for sharing his music with the Rowan-Salisbury School community and representing West Rowan well!

The residents of the Oak Park Retirement Community got a real treat Thursday, March 26th!  All the bands of West Rowan provided the evening entertainment:  Jazz Band, Percussion Ensemble, Concert Band and Wind Ensemble.  The groups performed an hour-long variety concert after dinner concluded for the evening.  Yet another example of our students sharing their talents with our West Rowan Community!  Congrats to all on a great evening of music!

Senior Percussionist, Daniel Winecoff, is a finalist for the $30,000 Hayes Young Artist Scholarship at ASU!  Daniel performed live in the final recital competition on Saturday, February 28th at Appalachian State University.  After the recital concluded, top honors went to a very talented vocalist, but Daniel didn't come home empty handed!  Based on his performance, he was awarded a $3,000 scholarship to the Hayes School of Music.  Congratulations Daniel!

Congratulations to ALL our students who submitted audition CDs to UNCG.  Results are up!  Special congratulations to Rivers Sides (5th Trumpet), Cassidy Nooner (5th Horn), Matthew Langford (1st Tuba) and Daniel Winecoff (4th Percussion).  Be sure to come see them in concert at UNCG on February 14th!

At the SCDBA All-District Clinic on January 30-31 at Lenoir-Rhyne University, Matthew Langford performed as 2nd chair tuba in the 11-12 Senior High Band under the direction of world-renowned composer and conductor, Robert Sheldon.  The group is comprised of the top high school musicians in south central NC and performed some of the most difficult literature for wind band with only 2 days of rehearsal!  Matthew's 2nd chair placement qualifies him to audition for the NC All-State Honor Band in March.  Congratulations to Matthew on his success at the district level!

On December 11th, Rowan-Salisbury Schools hosted a night of reading showcasing the "Literacy Trees" elementary students created before the Christmas break.  Adding to the ambiance for the evening was senior saxophonist, Chase Webb who played Christmas carols throughout the evening.  Congrats on great night of music and thanks for sharing you talents with the Rowan-Salisbury community!

Current Low Brass Captain and principal tuba at West Rowan, Matthew will be in San Antonio, TX this week preparing for the half-time show of the All-American Bowl this Saturday, January 3rd.  He joins first-class musicians from all across the United States for a week-long series of rehearsals, masterclasses, performances and a bit of sight-seeing.  Be sure to tune in to www.banddirector.com to see interviews, discussion and highlights on Friday, January 2nd at 8:00PM CST and again on Saturday, January 3rd to see the half-time performance at the 2014 All-American Bowl.  Congratulations once again to Matthew!

For the 4th year now, Cassidy Nooner's "Winter Winds" have played for the Salvation Army's Kettle Campaign to help bring out the holiday spirit and spare change around Salisbury.  The group is completely organized and rehearsed by Ms. Nooner who also writes all of their music!  See the full article on the Salisbury Post HERE.

Saxophonist Nick Watson (Class of 2013) and clarinetist Wendy Cheng (Class of 2014), now students at UNCW, are performing with their top ensemble, the "Chamber Winds."  In concert at the 2014 Honor Band Clinic on December 5th, they performed a wide variety of literature including National Emblem (Bagley), Fusion (Balmages), Concerto for Cell Phone (Stephenson), Blue Shades (Ticheli) and more!  We're proud of our WRHS Alumni!

On Thanksgiving Day, when WCU's 500+ member "Pride of the Mountains" Marching Band leads the 2014 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, 4 WRHS alumni will be among their ranks: Caroline Wood, Kennedy Piatt, H.A. Hoffman and Alex Day.  Be sure to watch live on NBC at 9:00am and check out the article in the Salisbury Post!

Seven members of the WRHS Percussion Ensemble attended the 1st Annual Percussion Symposium hosted by UNCG Saturday, November 15th.  These students got hands-on experience playing all aspects of percussion including 4-mallet marimba, drum-set, West African hand-drumming, clinics on the All-State solo and more!  The day was filled with percussive-goodness from top to bottom!

Will Camps (Class of  2011) is currently a music education major at UNCP and performed with their Wind Ensemble at the North Carolina Music Educators Association 2014 Conference in Winston-Salem.  The ensemble performed Overture to "Candide" by Bernstein (arr. Grundman), Highland Cathedral by Roever/Korb (arr. Dawson), Mother Earth by Maslanka, Endless Rainbows and Evocation by Balmages and American Jazz Suite by Vizzutti.  You can see Will in the far left of this picture in the percussion section!

Congratulations to our students accepted to the UNC-Wilmington Honor Band Clinic!  These students will travel to Wilmington, rehearse for 2 days, enjoy masterclasses with the faculty, hear the UNCW bands in concert and give a Finale Concert on Saturday, December 6th!  Congratulations to Grace Morris, Chase Webb, Mackenzie Koontz, Cassidy Nooner, Matthew Langford, Marcus Clonts and Daniel Winecoff!

Congratulations to the "Marching Falcons" on their performance at the Porter Ridge "Pirate Cove Classic."  The band earned awards for 2nd Place Marching, 1st Place Percussion, 1st Place Music (5th highest score of the day), 1st Place Effect (6th highest score of the day), 1st Place Drum Major (3rd highest of the day) and 1st Place in Class 3A.  In addition, the "Marching Falcons" earned a rating of "Superior" and were named the 1A-2A-3A Grand Champion!  A fantastic end to a fantastic season!

Congratulations to the "Marching Falcons" on their success at the South Caldwell "Spartan Southern Classic."  After a LONG day and TWO performances, the "Marching Falcons" returned home with awards for 2nd Place Colorguard, 1st Place Percussion, 1st Place Drum Major, 1st Place Music, 1st Place Marching, 1st Place General Effect and 1st Place overall in Class 2A with a rating of SUPERIOR.  Special congratulations to Cassidy Nooner with the 2nd highest Drum Major score of the entire competition!

The All-American Marching Band is comprised of the top 125 high school musicians from across the United States that receive an all-expenses-paid trip to San Antonio to perform in the Alamodome.  During the bowl week, band members are instructed by educators from top high school, collegiate and DCI groups as well as sessions with the US Army Field Band.  Be sure to watch the performance live on January 3rd at www.banddirector.com during halftime!