Hernando High’s Performing Arts Center

A Brand New Song & Dance

Hernando High School’s performing arts programs enter 2020 strong.

With a school motto of “Traditions Never Graduate,” it’s no surprise that Hernando High School’s firmly rooted tradition of meaningful, lasting performing arts education has remained paramount over the years, particularly when it comes to its award-winning theatre and band programs.

“Both of those programs have been very successful at what they do,” said Duane Case, Principal of Hernando High School. “We’ve had students tell us that they specifically moved to this district to participate in the theatre program, and the band’s recent state championship performance was a big deal for the students and parents.”

With four state championships over the past eight years under Band Director Len Killough, Hernando High School’s much-lauded band program competed at both the state and national level in 2019 and earned the title of Mississippi High School Activities Association/Mississippi Bandmasters Association 6A Marching Band State Champions. The top three bands in the state were all DeSoto County bands, with DeSoto Central High School at second place and Southaven High School at Third.

“I think my proudest moment of the year was definitely winning the state championship,” said Victoria Jones, Marching Band Director Assistant Director of Bands at Hernando High School. “Our students have all grown so much in so many areas of performance, both musically and visually. And they’ve really been able to adapt to some new, out-of-thebox choreography and exceeded all of our expectations.”

Hernando High School’s band programs involve 150 high school students and 350 middle school students and are comprised of indoor percussion, color guard, winter guard and three concert bands in addition to middle school bands that also participate.

“There’s a place for everyone in our program,” said Jones. “We’re fortunate that we teach such a diverse group of students that all gets to come and participate and grow together as they’re all part of a team for the longhaul, sometimes as long as seven years.”

The marching band’s big win follows a successful fall that saw the school’s marching band engage in competition at the Bands of America St. Louis Super Regional for the first time, coming in fourth in their classification out of 25 competing bands.

Upcoming spring 2020 band events include varsity and junior winter guard competitions, with the varsity group proceeding to the WGI World Championships in Dayton Ohio in April. The indoor percussion line will also compete at a state level in April, and the jazz band and three concert bands will attend festivals in the spring. Finally, the school year will cap off with a marching band trip to Orlando to participate in the Universal Studios Parade.

“I think that all of the arts programs are so important because they teach students so much more than just music,” said Jones. “At the end of the day, it’s about important life skills like how to be a part of a larger organization, taking direction and working with teammates from all different backgrounds and styles.”

2019 was also a banner year for Hernando High School Theatre as they finished the fall season with their rendition of the Mel Brooks’ classic “Young Frankenstein” and are preparing to compete in the Northwest Mississippi Theatre Alliance`s Allie Awards in early 2020.

“Students will be judged in a number of different categories for awards,” said Lauren Suddoth, Head of Theatre at Hernando High School. “They have awards for specific cast members, as well as honors for entire class and the production side of things such as best lighting, best vocal direction and best choreography.”

Hernando High School Theatre will also participate in The Orpheum High School Musical Theatre Awards in May, vying for awards in several categories. In January of 2020, Hernando High School Theatre will travel to the Mississippi Theatre Association’s Statewide Festival in Oxford for individual students to compete in a range of categories including best solo musical number, best duet and best monologue performance.

“We generally have about 40 to 45 kids involved in each production and we’ve done four productions a year in the past,” said Suddoth. “But this year, we chose to scale our productions back to two so the students could focus on perfecting their individual acts for the state festival.”

Hernando High School Theatre is currently gearing up for their spring musical, a production of Disney’s “Freak Friday” set to debut the last weekend of April to wrap up the season. Alumni from Hernando High School Theatre have gone on to perform abroad, including multiple recipients of National High School Musical Theatre Awards.