Bolivar Central Band Attends Camps to Build Skills for New School Year
The Bolivar Central High School (BCHS) band is gearing up for the 2024/2025 school year with scheduled skill camps to prepare new and continuing students as they prepare for the upcoming marching band performance season. After completing a successful first year as the BCHS band director that included not only musical performances, but also theatrical ones, William Griggs has great expectations for his students and is equipping them with the tools they need to succeed.
The first was a three-day camp that was held Wednesday through Friday, July 10 – 12, 2024, for new band members to help with the transition to playing music at a high school level. Many of the students that attended the camp were students from the countywide BCHS recruitment tour that was held earlier this year in March. The band visited five area schools – Bolivar Elementary School, Bolivar Middle School, Hornsby Elementary School, Toone Elementary School, and Whiteville Elementary School. The tour gave prospective students an introduction to the BCHS music department and an opportunity to see the band in action.
The second camp that started on Monday, July 15, 2024, and runs through Friday, July 26, 2024, is being held for all marching band members. Participants in the camp include wind instruments, drumline, and the color guard.
“At band camp, we learn fundamentals of our instruments, fundamentals of marching, and our field show for the season. We also learn a variety of disciplinary skills that build the character of each and every band member,” said Mr. Griggs.
The camps have given the students an opportunity to make new friends and reinforce the friendships they built last season. Several of the veteran members have stepped up and taken the roles as mentors to the younger students who are now “part of the family”.
“Our band camp is the way our band becomes a family through this experience. I think it’s amazing to see how different friend groups begin to form inside of our band,” said Mr. Griggs. “Older members begin to adopt younger members while teaching and encouraging them along the way.”
Mr. Griggs, a 2015 graduate from BCHS, also played in the band while a student at the school. Returning to BCHS in 2023 as the school band director was more than just a job to him. Mr. Griggs came with intention and a plan to give back to the students using music through the band program just as his former music teachers had done for him. His determination to share the beauty and benefits of music through instrument and voice has already made an impression on students as seen with the growth of participation from last year. The band is just one of the many extracurricular activities students can participate in at the area high schools. Mr. Griggs is excited to see more students interested in joining the band.
“Parents, please get your kids inside of something outside of a regular classroom setting. If not band, then something that will keep their minds challenged,” said Mr. Griggs. “We have around 41 band students in our band program this year. This is a significant increase from our 27 band students in the previous year. My hope is that the students find a new love for band. I have worked very hard on debunking the multiple negative stereotypes that surround marching band. Marching band is not for the weak or for the faint of heart. It is for those who seek to be the future leaders of our society. It is for those who desire to be a part of something bigger than themselves. We work hard, and then we have fun . . . in that order.”
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