Sandy Creek Marching Band
SCHS BAND
Included in the Fine Arts department at Sandy Creek High School in Tyrone, GA are the Sandy Creek High School Symphonic, Concert and Marching Bands. The band has recently had a change of directors prior to the 2002-2003 school year however the band has regained the status it had under its previous directors in the space of 4 years.
Marching Band
The Sandy Creek High School Marching Patiot Band has existed in fluctuating membership since the school's creation in 1991. Many would say the school's peak was under the directon of Sanders and Elrod in the mid nineties during which the band performed breakout original shows such as "Dreams of a Child", "Miss Saigon" and the old favorite "Earth Wind and Fire", many items from these shows grace the walls of local reasturants such as Ruby Tuesday's in Fayetteville as so called "Kitch".
Uniforms
The band wore white uniforms with blue pants red trim and white shakos with red plumes (reminiscent of chicken combs) for its first 12 years, however in the new directors' second year(2003-2004), the Band Booster Association was commissioned to find new uniforms. Under the direction of Uniform Committe Chair, Grady Dunlap, the band received a set of 150 Stanbury uniforms in deep blue with red and silver trim. Within 2 years of fund raising, the band paid off the uniform purchase that was set to have been completed in six years.
Shows
In the past 4 years, the band has performed amazing original shows that consistantly become judge and crowd favorites.
- '02-'03 "Motown 2k2" Featuring songs by the Temptations and The Jackson Five. Drum Major: Beth Davis
- '03-'04 "Around the World in 8 Minutes" With vignettes from England, France, Russia, Austria and America. DM: Brian Johns
- '04-'05 "The Music of Stevie Wonder" Selections include "Isn't She Lovely", "My Cherie Amour", and "Sir Duke" DM: Christine Fludd
- '05-'06 "Stormy Weather" Including "Its Raining Men", "Thunder Rolls", and the band class favorite "Into the Storm" DMs: Aubrey Scott, Kyle Johns, Kip Dunlap.
The band's 2005 show "Stormy Weather" won the first Gold Grandchampionship in the school's 15 year history and included the band's first use of Assistant/backfield Drum Majors, causing much controversy.
Concert Bands
Sandy Creek's "Concert" or "Festival" Bands, all of which perform at GMEA's Large Group Performance Evaluations in March. In 2005 Sandy Creek also began a tradition of holding the Fayette County Pre-Festival; a small-scale version of the festival performances to come complete with judge tapes and recordings for each band.
Sandy Creek itself has three different Festival bands:
- Symphonic Winds I
- Symphonic Winds II
- Concert Band
Symphonic Winds I
The top band at Sandy Creek, this would be the equivalent of the Wind Ensembles at other Fayette County schools, however the band is still working to be competitive with the better known and better funded Fayette County High School Wind Ensemble. The band generally plays level 5 and 6 peices such as The Hounds of Spring by Alfred Reed, An American Elegy by Frank Ticheli and Celebrations by John Zdelchik. The band is under the direction of Casey Phillip Eubanks.
Symphonic Winds II
Formerly "Concert I", this band is perhaps the most enjoyable of them all. Directed by Marcus Kareem Rayner, Symphonic II has played such fun peices as "Regenisis: Song of the Planet" by John Higgins, "Celebration and Dance" by James Swearingen, "Masque" by Robert Sheldon, and the constant favorite, "River of Life" by Steven Reineke. The band continually receives straight Superior ratings at Festival.
Concert Band/Symphonic II
Concert band can be said to be the training ground for new players or the "less upwardly mobile" of the band. However the band makes outstanding ratings at festival and continues to produce players who in the space of one year can easily be promoted to Symphonic Winds I.