Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Wimberly: Superior Band

The GHS Go-Devil Band recently competed at ASBOA Region III Concert and Contest Festival.

According to Allen Wimberly, GHS band director, he has never felt better or more proud of a young group of musicians in his 12 years of teaching.

"The band and I were one in the entire concert," Wimberly said. "The second selection, A Childhood Hymn by David Holsinger, left me with a tear in my eye, because the band and I played it with such emotion and beauty which is what every band director strives to achieve in making music with his band."

All three selections performed by the band were played with much intensity, precision, attention to detail and musicality. Wimberly and those who attended the event were very proud of the GHS band's performance.

The band did not earn an overall superior rating, a I, II, III, a rating of excellent. Wimberly said that it was still the best performance he has been involved in. Wimberly's other bands have earned superior ratings in the past, but he said that they couldn't touch this band's performance.

"I am mostly aggrieved for my students, who for the first time I can't tell them why they didn't get a superior rating," he said. "Several other band directors who heard our performance also told me the same thing. They felt like it was a superior concert and were already congratulating me before the results were even handed out."

The band did earn a rating of II in the sight reading room.

"If you see a band member, tell them how much you appreciate them, their desire to achieve and their work ethic," Wimberly said.

Wimberly said it was great to see that Linda Hulan, a band booster, went to Wal-Mart and bought a big poster board to make a sign that read "#1 Band" and placed it on the windshield of the band bus so that all the students could see it when they came out of CiCi's Pizza.