By Debbie Adams

The William Byrd Middle School and William Byrd High School band directors have announced their annual awards for 2020. Dan Plybon is the band director at WBHS. Denise Aspell is Director of Bands at WBMS.

Congratulations to the following WBHS band students! We are proud to honor the following students with the top awards in band for 2019-2020:

• Ethan Bowser, trumpet, earned the John Phillip Sousa award. The John Phillip Sousa Award is one of the highest awards a band member can receive in high school.
• Sydney Deitrich, flute/piccolo, won this year’s Director’s Award.
• Jayden Glass, percussion, achieved the 2019-2020 Louis Armstrong Jazz Award. The criteria for the Louis Armstrong Award include “outstanding achievement, superior musicianship, and character.”

Ethan Bowser also won this year’s Band Department Award for the Class of 2020.

The William Byrd High School Band senior class is very large this year with 26 members including: Clarissa Blankenship, Ethan Bowser, Piper Brown, James Buchanan, Judson Crowell, Jonathan Davis, Chloe Deal, Rachel Deatherage, Sydney Deitrich, Jayden Glass, Mason Gunn, Aimee Harrison, Cameron Harshbarger, Grecia Hernandez’Perez, Bryant Humphries, RoAnna Hylton, Griffin Lane, Michael Lovell, Auria Martin, Brian McCormack, Olivia Robertson, Aaliyah Saunders, Caleb Speck, Stephanie Stump, Abrigail Turner, and Ethan Wood.

We would like to congratulate the following students for being recognized for the achievements in the WBMS band in 2019-2020. The band students voted on most outstanding and most improved in their classes and the directors awarded a Director’s Award for each grade level. We are very proud of these musicians!

WBMS Director’s Awards:

• 8th grade: Tyler Morrison, percussion
• 7th grade: Becca Radford, clarinet
• 6th grade: Braeden Booth, clarinet

WBMS Most Outstanding awards:

• 8th grade: Jack Hinkle, trumpet
• 7th grade: Abigail Dooley, trumpet, and Mary Wray, percussion
• 6th grade: Lucy Whitenack, trumpet; Cary Jones, clarinet; Joshua Allen, baritone; and Gabby Romeo, percussion

WBMS Most Improved awards:

• 8th grade: Annika Hoagland, tuba and baritone
• 7th grade: Marshall Bruner, trumpet, and Blake Richardson, clarinet
• 6th grade: Bethany Pittenger, flute; Parker Minnix, horn; Autumn Mills, trumpet; and Brady Kane, alto sax