Cleveland County Schools hosts daylong band clinic and concert at Burns High School
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Summary
Students from Cleveland County Schools performed a concert at Burns High School after a day of rehearsals with visiting clinicians from Cuthbertson Middle School and NC State; the program included contemporary and programmatic works and ended with a Dixieland-style finale.
An evening band clinic and concert took place at the Burns High School Auditorium featuring students from Cleveland County Schools and visiting clinicians from Cuthbertson Middle School and North Carolina State University.
The clinic brought together middle- and high-school musicians who rehearsed new repertoire with visiting educators and performed four to six pieces for an audience of parents, school administrators and county band directors. "Welcome to the Burns High School Auditorium. We are so pleased to have you here tonight," Burns High School band director Kyle Maples said during opening remarks.
Visiting clinicians led sectional work and full-ensemble rehearsals. Andy Washburn introduced clinician Katie Ebert, identified in the program as band director at Cuthbertson Middle School in Union County. Ebert worked with the students during the day; in introductions staff praised the quality of her instruction. Doctor Mark Whitfield, assistant director of athletic bands at North Carolina State University, conducted the high-school ensemble and said, "How about this band? I am thrilled to be here," noting that some students had received their music within the past several days.
Performances listed in the program and announced from the stage included Plaza de Toros; Legacy of Heroes (which opens with Taps and moves into a celebratory section); Desert Racers; Seal Lullaby (a transcription of an Eric Whitaker choral work); Skyline; and Shackleford Banks: The Tale of Wild Mustangs. The concert closed with a Dixieland-style piece described by Whitfield as modeled on New Orleans jazz funerals, beginning with a dirge and ending with "When the Saints Go Marching In." Whitfield introduced student soloists for the finale and named Olivia Delaeara (clarinet), Jake Kleiner (trumpet), Tanner Cook (trumpet), Bridal Beatty (trumpet), Jake Seifrit (trombone), Jeremiah Kennedy (tuba) and Jackson Gilchrist (drums).
Presenters and county directors repeatedly thanked parents, local school administrators and the Cleveland County School Board of Education members in attendance. Andy Washburn and Kenny Collins (band director at Crest High School) praised students' work ethic; Collins noted changes to clinician staffing for the event and introduced Whitfield as a longtime colleague. Amy Jones, the school's choral director, accompanied one transcription at the piano when the scheduled pianist was unavailable.
No formal board actions, votes, or policy decisions were made during the event; the gathering was a music-education clinic and concert rather than a civic meeting.
