Music Program
The Washington Township High School Orchestra is under the direction of Judy Barnett. On April 22, 2011, the Orchestra participated and played at Carnegie Hall in the National Invitational Band and Orchestra Festival.
The Washington Township High School Minutemen Marching Band is a regionally and nationally recognized band. Under the direction of James Beyer, the band grew to over 225 members in 1997, the same year they achieved a 94.40 at the ACC Championships, a school record that still stands today. Later that season they participated in the 1998 Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena, California and became the first band to be decorated in 5,000 live flowers and seeds, creating the first ever “Marching Musical Float”. Designed by Todd Marcocci, this unique concept and design approach received tremendous support from all major media around the world. The band has also participated in the 1995 and 1997 Philadelphia Thanksgiving Day Parade, the 2004 Gator Bowl in Jacksonville, Florida, the 2005 Holiday Bowl in San Diego, California and the 2008 Outback Bowl in Tampa, Florida. Since its inception in 1973, the band has placed in the top 10 at the Tournament of Bands (TOB) Atlantic Coast Championships 16 times, and was Chapter One Champions for 16 straight years from 1985 to 2000, winning the Group 3 title from 1985 to 1987 and the Group 4 titles the subsequent 13 years.
In recent years the band has undergone many changes, including becoming a separate ensemble (no longer a required part of the concert band program) and a director change in 2003. In 2004, the Minutemen band became the first South Jersey band to compete in a Bands of America (BOA) Regional at Rutgers University, part of the nation's top marching circuit. The band competes in class IV-A of the United States Scholastic Band Association (USSBA) and was host to the 2007 USSBA New Jersey State Championships for Open class bands and the 2008 USSBA New Jersey State Championships for A class bands and will also be the host again in 2009. The current director is Casey Corigliano.
The 2009-10 school year was a historic one for the Minutemen band as they were named the 2009 USSBA Northern States Group 3A Champion. This was the band's first championship of any kind since the 16 year Chapter Championship streak was broken in 2001. The band was also named the 2010 Cotton Bowl Music Festival Grand Champion while participating in the Cotton Bowl Classic festivities in Dallas, Texas. By being named grand champion, the band had the honor of playing their show "Journey of Man" during pre-game in front of 78,000 fans. The WTHS Drumline also received first place and won the honor to play their cadence to bring all of the bands onto the field for the mass half time show at the 2010 Cotton Bowl.
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Famous quotes containing the words music and/or program:
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