Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Sanford makes first chair

Kayla Sanford, 11-year-old student of the clarinet at Cabe Middle School in Gurdon, has received a first band, first chair honor in a three-state band camp this summer at Henderson State University in Arkadelphia.

According to Allen Wimberly, Gurdon schools band director, Sanford attended the camp the week of June 21-25.

"She has really come a long way for no more time than she has on the clarinet," he said.

"Her talent is growing and I am happy to see her getting so much from the band experience."

Her mother and father are Beverly and Mark Sanford, of Gurdon.

Her mother said, "It is Kayla's first year to be in band. They were judged on their abilities, all playing the same pieces. The music was some sort of skill testing designed for their levels."

According to Sanford, there were 425 band campers, with one year of band experience (seventh graders).

There were 81 clarinet players competing for the honors Kayla Sanford received. The players were from Arkansas, Texas and Louisiana.

The competition field included six bands, with about 70 students in each group. Sherry Steel, of Fort Smith, was Sanford's band director.

"I know my daughter had a lot of fun at the competition," her mother said. "I would like to thank our high school band director for the hours he spent rehearsing with her."

Kayla Sanford said Band Director Wimberly taught her in three rehearsals, for a total of three hours, prior to the band camp competition.

"One of them was on a Wednesday during school," she said. "The other two were this summer before camp. Mr. Wimberly really helped me prepare for this," she added.

Bruce Burson is the beginning band teacher for Gurdon and has been instrumental in Sanford learning the clarinet.

"I have taken eight years of piano lessons, which helped me on the clarinet too," she said.

This was Sanford's first experience with a band camp. She stayed in a dorm room on Henderson's campus. She said her room mate, Christina, was a flute player from Louisiana.

She said her favorite part of going to camp was the rehearsals at Henderson State University, where she learned new music.

"I liked the Journey of the Tikonaught' best of all," she said. "It was a Japanese melody about an oriental astronaut."

In addition to the first band, first chair honor, Sanford received a certificate for being the outstanding female musician in the first band.

Her mother said there were six band and 12 outstanding musicians picked, one boy and one girl from each band.

When the competition got under way, Sanford said there were three pieces to do. Musicians were judged on their performances of lines three and eight.

"I got nervous," she said. "But I played well anyway."

Sanford began playing the clarinet in August of 2004.

She played "Jolly Ole St. Nick" for the Gurdon Rotary club during the Christmas season this past winter.

Sanford said one of her musical goals is to compete in another band camp sometime.

"I plan on being in junior band next year, and then stay with it for high school band," she said.

Wimberly said of Sanford last winter, "It is especially rewarding to see such talent evolve in our students."