CHURCHILL CHARGER BAND

Since 1966, musical and marching excellence has been a tradition of the Winston Churchill High School Charger Band. The band's performances have varied from pep rallies to adding dignity to the arrival and departure of British royalty. The Charger Band played for Prince Charles during his visit to San Antonio and in 1990, performed at the Alamo for Queen Elizabeth and Prince Phillip.



The Charger Band performed the first of its many concerts in the courtyard on August 30, 1966, under their original director, M. E. Rodman (1966-1971). Past directors also include W. B. Shelton (1971-1972), Tony Esquivel (1972-1984), Darrell Gan (1984-1987) and Ferd Vollmar (1987-2000). The Churchill Charger Band's current director, Albert Lo, joined the faculty in 2001.

On staff with Albert are assistant directors Alan Sharps and Brian Hildreth. Mark Sloan is the Colorguard Coordinator, and Jim Ragsdale is the Drumline/Percussion Instructor.



The Churchill Charger Band's accomplishments in UIL competitions are so impressive that the band became known as the "Show Window of Winston Churchill High School." The Charger Band made history by winning two back-to-back Bands of America Regional Championships in the fall of 1997. The band followed this with back-to-back first and second places in Band of America regional competitions in 1998. In its first national competition in 1998 , the Charger Band placed 9th in a field of 80 competitive bands at BOA Grand Nationals, held in Indianapolis, Indiana. In 1999, the Charger Band returned to "Grand Nats" and again placed 9th out of 80 bands.In 2002(the most recent GN visit) the Winston Churchill Band placed 10th with their show ANIME. Winston Churchill will also be making its fourth trip to BOA Grand Nationals this upcoming fall along with the 5A State Marching Contest. The band closed out the 2000 marching season by finishing 3rd in the Texas 5A State Marching Contest. The 2001 season was highlighted with third place finishes at both the San Antonio and Houston BOA Regionals.



Individual excellence is also a Churchill tradition. In its long history, the Charger Band counts numerous All-State Musicians among its alumni. In 1998 alone, Churchill fostered five All-State, 19 All-Area, 48 All-Region and 72 All-District musicians. Churchill band members received over 100 Blue Ribbon Division I ratings for Solo and Ensembles, about 80% of all of the band's entries.

This represents a typical year for the Charger Band. Churchill also boasts an excellent jazz band, with two full Jazz Ensembles.



         Recent Charger Band Performances



1990 La Fiesta Mexicana, March to the Scafford, Variations on a Korean Theme

1991Stravinski's Firebird, Verdi Requiem

1992 West Side Story (Leonard Berstein)

1993 American in Paris (George Gershwin)

1994 Phantom of the Opera

1995 Sentimental Journey (50th Year Tribute to 1945)

1996 Candide by Leonard Berstein

1997 Images by Shostakovich

1998 20th Centery Reflections (Samual Barber)

1999 The Power and the Beauty (Puccini and Respighi)

2000 Abstraction (Prokovief and Stravinsky)

2001 Under Construction (Adams/Sharps/Mairs/Bolcom)

2002 The Musical World of Anime (Higginbotham/Kevin Ford)

2003 Toxic (Stephen Melillo/Mike Stevens)

2004 Blueprints (Higginbotham/Mike Stevens)

2005 E F/X (Higginbotham/Alan Sharps/Jim Ragsdale)

2006 Deception of Perception (Persichetti/Higginbothan)



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