Following the success of the previous year, the Buford High School Marching Band will be competing in the Bands of America Regional Championship on October 5th in Chattanooga, TN.
According to Bands of America, the competition is an opportunity to demonstrate excellence, as well as evaluate the achievements of students on a national level.
Last year was the marching band’s first time being invited to participate in the competition. It made it to the finals.
According to Erik Mason, the director of bands at Buford High School, that was the first time in the history of Buford that that’s happened. Additionally, it was also the 30th school in the state of Georgia to be in a BOA Regional finals.
“Those kids really felt proud of what they had achieved in doing that,” Mason said.
The Band of Wolves has more than the BOA in their competition lineup for the 2024 fall semester.
The marching band competitions this year are September 14th at Denmark High School and November 2nd at Newnan High School.
BHS will also host the Georgia Marching Band Collective at Buford. The event is a part of a circuit of three shows across the state. The competition will be on October 26th.
“Honestly, every year since we’ve been here, we’ve learned more about who our kids are and what their strengths are, and how we can maximize those strengths, as designers and teachers,” Mason said.
In addition to competitions, the marching band will continue to support Buford football throughout the season.
“One of the highlights for our kids is going to football games,” Mason said. “It’s always a lot of fun.”
Mason and Bridget Wildes supervise all the areas of the band program, including band classes, marching band, jazz band and winter guard. Since 2020 the band has battled fluctuation in size. This is the first year they’re similar in size, as well as proportionate in age and instrumentation.
“We really do have a special group of kids this year, and we’re just looking forward to the season,” Wildes said. “You know, it feels like home, and everybody, we’ve always been on the same page, but it just feels like this year, everything’s settling into the right place.”
