ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä

Majorette contestants

There are several returning Miss Kanawha Majorette candidates. Faith Kinder from Riverside High School, Brooklyn Wells from South ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä High School, Ryleigh Toney from Capital High School and Kaitlyn Thompson from George Washington are all returning Miss Majorette contestants.

Last year's Miss Majorette, Mia Bartoli, is returning to compete as a feature twirler. According to the contest rules, majorettes cannot win twice in a row.

Sailor Lucas from Herbert Hoover High School and Emma Elkins from George Washington are the only new contestants.

Kathi Holland Burton — who was a feature twirler for six seasons at West Virginia University — will judge the competition.

Band competition

In addition to the majorette competition, all eight Kanawha County high school bands will compete for the title of Festival Grand Champion.

Last year, Sissonville High School snapped George Washington’s five-year winning streak.

Bands will also compete in seven other categories:

• Feature twirler
• Auxiliary
• Percussion
• Field commander
• Marching
• Playing
• General effect

A performance from the Pride of West Virginia, WVU’s marching band, will close out the night.

Still bouncing back

Band numbers in the county have been rebounding since the COVID-19 pandemic. Middle school bands are at pre-COVID levels, Davis said, which will continue to lead to an increase in quality and numbers in high school bands.

“I don’t know if we're [at increased band levels] all the way through high school yet, but definitely our beginning students that are coming up, those classes look to be pretty healthy in numbers,� he said.

Andrew Martin, in his 10th year as band director at St. Albans High School, lauded the middle school band directors at his feeder schools — McKinley and Hayes middle schools — for their work with those younger musicians during COVID-19.

“I can't say enough good things about all of our middle school instructors for keeping students interested and keeping students moving with their playing through the distance learning time period,� he said. “That's just miraculous to me.�

Director and arranger

Martin wrote almost all of his band’s production this year, including arranging two songs and creating the marching patterns. The show, titled "Red," is a retelling of the Little Red Riding Hood fairytale.

“It’s nice to teach something that you know that well and understand all of the intent behind everything,� he said. “I think the students wind up being more invested in that when they know that their director spends the time doing this for them.�

Band community

Martin’s favorite part of the festival is seeing the lifelong friendships students begin to form across bands.

“Not only is it good for them in terms of their social development and making our county just a stronger unit as a whole,� he said. “But then in the spring, when we go into the All-County Band season, it's not going to be this kind of rigid environment when all the kids show up because they know each other.�

He said he also enjoys that his students get to see the bands from WVU and Marshall University.

“High school doesn’t have to be where it stops,� he tells his students. “You can go to college and do college band… Even if you don’t want to be a music teacher, you don't have to be done with band when you graduate high school.�

Davis said he would encourage students to join band because of the camaraderie it brings — similar to a sports team.

“Band is a whole different aspect,� he said. "You’re actually expressing yourself through this art form of music and motion… You’re creating this work of art on the field as a team.�

The Majorette Festival stands out to him because Kanawha County is one of the few counties with enough schools to have a festival where they compete only against each other.

“I think it really pulls the community together, especially in these schools,� he said.