James Madison High School Band Receives National Award

The James Madison High School Band, directed by Michael S. Hackbarth, has been selected as a National Winner of the prestigious National Band Association’s Blue Ribbon Award. The announcement was made on December 21 at the Mid-West Band Convention in Chicago. JMHS received the Southern Division Award in the fall of 2017 and joins three other programs recognized as 2017 National Recipients.

Awards are based on a lengthy and comprehensive application process. Submissions must include at least 35 minutes of recorded music from at least two different school years including excerpts from multiple ensembles within the Band program, such as marching and jazz bands. Written submission materials include: a list of all honors and awards received in the last four years; four entire concert band programs from the last three years; rating forms and adjudicator sheets from festivals for the last three years; a comprehensive repertoire list of all works performed in the school’s band program for the last two years; a report on the number of students accepted by audition to regional and state honor bands for the past three years; a report of solo and ensemble participants with ratings for the past three years, and an estimated number of graduates who continue to perform after high school graduation.

Founded in 1960, the National Band Association is the largest professional organization for bands in the world. It was organized to promote the musical and educational significance of bands and is dedicated to the attainment of a high level of excellence for bands and band music.

NBA’s educational purposes are:

• To promote the excellence of band performance throughout the world
• To encourage the composition and performance of quality band music at all levels
• To assist directors at all levels of experience to identify areas of mutual concern
• To promote pride and continued enthusiasm among band directors
• To encourage quality students to pursue careers in music
• To promote a spirit of cooperation and continued dialogue among directors, performers, the music industry, and all other band support organizations at all levels.

The National Blue Ribbon Award will be presented to Mr. Hackbarth and the Band Program this Spring. To learn more about the James Madison High School Band visit www.jmhsband.org.