Berkeley County School District participated in the first-ever SCBDA Junior All-State Jazz Band Clinic at Charleston Southern University the weekend of March 6. This event was spearheaded and made possible by the leadership of Westview Middle School Band Director and SCBDA Jazz Chair, Ronnie Ward.
Of the 18 students who were accepted to this inaugural group, nine of them were BCSD students (listed below).
In addition, BCSD Schools cleaned house at the SCBDA Jazz Performance Assessment, all walking away with perfect scores. The SCBDA All-State Jazz Performance Assessment (formerly Jazz Festival) began in March 1998, and was held annually in conjunction with the Newberry Jazz Festival and SCBDA All-State Jazz Band Clinic. The event started with 28 schools across the state that took the plunge to participate. Since then, the event has grown to more than 80 schools across the state, with two performance sites over the course of two days.
Among the 80 participating bands, all nine BCSD ensembles earned a Superior with Distinction, meaning all three judges gave them superior ratings.
Congratulations to the BCSD participants at SCBDA Junior All-State Jazz Clinic:
Adam Hargadine – Cane Bay Middle, trumpet
Reid McCombs – Westview Middle, trumpet
Jeremy Gonzalez – Carolyn Lewis School, trumpet
Noah O'Neal – Marrington Middle School of the Arts, trombone
Thomas Moorecraft – Westview Middle, trombone
Kye Duncan – Marrington Middle School of the Arts, vibes
Carter Murray – Westview Middle, bass (not pictured)
Thomas McAlister – Hanahan Middle, drums
Brighton Seward – Cane Bay Middle, drums
Additionally, six other students were accepted to the SCBDA Senior All-State Jazz Clinic:
Grayson Berrios – Stratford High, tenor sax
Sebastian Catangay – Stratford High, tenor sax
Max Cervantes – Stratford High, trumpet
River Nimocks – Stratford High, bass
Freddy Pleis – Stratford High, drums
Aydan Moore – Cane Bay High, drums
Finally, congratulations to the nine BCSD school bands who claimed perfect scores in the Jazz Performance Assessment:
Middle Schools
Hanahan Middle School Jazz Ensemble – Andre North
Marrington Middle School of the Arts Seventh Grade Jazz Band – Holly Hauschild
The Monarchy Jazz Band – Holly Hauschild (Marrington)
Westview Middle School Jazz Ensemble – Ronnie Ward
High Schools
Goose Creek High Studio Jazz – Jeremy Ley
Red Bank Jazz Ensemble – Tyler Holliday (Goose Creek)
Hanahan High School Jazz Ensemble – Andre North
Stratford Jazz Orchestra – Greg Priest
Stratford 4:30 Jazz Band – Charles Fletcher