on a high note Bands and Orchestras in Prince William County Public Schools
FOSTERING LEADERSHIP AND TEAMWORK By Amy Falkofske
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he Prince William County School system prides itself on providing students with a world-class education, and that world-class education extends to the county’s band and orchestra programs. “Our focus is on trying to make the learning experiences, exposure to music and art, really, high quality in elementary school in hopes that as many kids as possible will continue to study in middle and high school because research clearly shows that the more consistently and intensely a child engages in the study of a fine art or performing art, the more successful they are in college, in the workplace, and in their personal lives as well,” said Dr. Ed Stephenson, PWCS Supervisor of the Arts. As Supervisor, Dr. Stephenson oversees the strings program in all of the county’s 61 elementary schools and three K-8 traditional schools. Students in every elementary school can participate in their strings program starting in fifth grade. Some schools allow students to participate starting in fourth grade. Participation in band begins in middle school. “The band and orchestra programs in our county are among the largest and most diverse in the state of Virginia. In addition to sporting successful alumni like Zuill Bailey (zuillbailey. com), we serve around 13,000 students in these programs every year, providing a tremendous benefit to all of these students, regardless of whether or not they decide to pursue music as a career,” said Stephenson.
World-Class Accomplishments Many of the bands and orchestras in PWCS have an impressive list of accomplishments spearheaded by exceptional directors.
Colgan High School Colgan High School is home to the Center for Fine and Performing Arts, one of the many specialty programs in PWCS.
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Colgan’s Band Director, Donald Magee, oversees three concert bands, the jazz ensemble and the Pride of Colgan Marching Band. “The program has had many achievements, including Superior ratings at marching and concert assessments from the Virginia Band and Orchestra Directors Association. The Pride of Colgan has been a consistent first place winner at contests and has performed in the Main Street Parade in the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World,” said Magee. Ben Bernstein is the Director of Orchestras at Colgan. Colgan has five strings orchestras — the Concert Orchestra, the Chamber Strings, the Camerata Strings, the Ensemble Orchestra and the Philharmonic Orchestra — and one symphony orchestra. “One of our orchestras (Philharmonic) was selected to perform at the Virginia Music Educators Association's 2018 Conference in Hot Springs, VA. This is a big honor, and they only pick a handful of orchestras from the entire state,” said Bernstein.
Woodbridge Senior High School Taryn Wood is the Orchestra Director at Woodbridge Senior High School and oversees the Varsity Orchestra, the Concert Orchestra and the Sinfonietta Orchestra. “The orchestra program at Woodbridge has a long history in the Prince William County Schools music programs. We have had many students graduate who have continued in music either professionally or as a hobby,” said Wood. In her 13 years at Woodbridge, Wood has created a special spring concert called Springstock. “[Springstock] is an entirely Pop/Rock/Alternative style themed concert where students not only perform non-classical
