East Panhandle Times

Martinsburg South Middle School, Spring Mills Middle School, and Spring Mills High School have joined forces to send a group of students to participate in the Wesleyan North Central West Virginia Honor Band at West Virginia Wesleyan College. The event starts on Sunday and involves several students from each school traveling together with their band directors to perform alongside other talented students from across the state.

Heather Nowell, Martinsburg South Middle School Band Director, previously attended the event with her students and encouraged other Berkeley County band directors to join this year after witnessing its positive impact. "The thing that really sold me on this event was when one of my students decided he wanted to go to college," Nowell said.

Joining Nowell are Jordan English, Spring Mills Middle School Band Director, and Lee Cheek, Spring Mills High School Band Director. They see the event as an opportunity for their students to experience a different part of West Virginia and interact with high-quality directors. "This is a great opportunity because it gives students the chance to see another part of West Virginia," English noted.

The participating student musicians will collaborate under one director over several days, culminating in a concert performance on Tuesday. This year's event also includes a Directors Symposium for professional development.

Local students Emari Olson, Mikayla Loper, and Mikayla Ornelas from Martinsburg South Middle School expressed excitement about participating. Loper looks forward to learning new music and connecting with other directors: "I’ve been in band for two years and really enjoy it." Ornelas wants to improve her sight-reading skills: "I want to learn a lot of different music." Olson appreciates how hard work leads to rewarding experiences: "It all adds up, but seeing something good and fun come out of it makes all that hard work worth it."

Nowell hopes that all participants will grow through this experience by developing skills useful beyond music, such as communication and collaboration.