By Ainsley Hall
MARTINSBURG — Martinsburg High School hosted the WVSSAC Region IX Concert Band Festival this year for the first time since 2000.
Schools throughout the area gathered on Wednesday and Thursday to participate and share what they’ve been working on throughout the school year.
Casie Rogers, director of bands at Martinsburg High School, was excited to work on the event. For many years, the festival took place at Musselman High School, with Michael Knepper in charge, but after he stepped down from organizing the event, Rogers was excited to continue his reputation.
“I like the planning aspect of the event and getting to see my ideas come to fruition,” Rogers said. “I’m a linguistics type person, so I really enjoyed putting everything together and making sure the event is the best it can be.”
During the first day, 15 high schools performed, including Martinsburg High School, Hedgesville High School, Washington High School, Jefferson High School, Berkeley Springs High School, Musselman High School, Spring Mills High School, Frankfort High School, Hampshire High School, Keyser High School, Moorefield High School, East Hardy High School, Faith Christian Academy and Petersburg High School.
On the second day, there were performances from Mountain Ridge Middle School, Harpers Ferry Middle School, Wildwood Middle School, Shepherdstown Middle School, Warm Springs Middle School, Charles Town Middle School, Capon Bridge Middle School, Pendleton County Middle High School, Martinsburg North Middle School, Martinsburg South Middle School, Musselman Middle School, Spring Mills Middle School, Romney Middle School, Frankfort Middle School, Keyser Middle School and Petersburg Middle School.
“We’re a local school and also host the Region IX Honor Band Concert, which has a lot of the same bands and students,” Rogers said. “They are familiar with the school, so they can perform their best.”
Melody Hudson, a senior trombone player in the Martinsburg High School band, started playing because of her father. Since then, she has enjoyed learning more about music, and this festival gave her and the other students another opportunity to perform.
Hudson enjoyed meeting the other bands and believes the event is a great opportunity for all the students.
“It’s important, because everyone expresses themselves differently,” Hudson said. “Having the opportunity to do that and share their skills with others is important. Playing music isn’t something everyone can do, and it takes skill to play a musical instrument.”
Many students like Hudson performed not just for judges and other band members but for friends and family from the community who came to support them and music within the schools. Rogers shared that it’s been fun and looks forward to hosting the festival in the future.