CHS Band to Participate in National Memorial Day Parade

Central High School’s band has been chosen to participate in the National Memorial Day Parade in Washington D.C. on Monday May 29, 2017. The band will be representing SAISD, the City of San Angelo, and the State of Texas.

The National Memorial Day Parade is meant to honor American veterans as well as the men and woman who have fallen in battle. The parade will also be made up of celebrated marching bands and veteran units from each state.

The CHS band will spend a good deal of time enjoying the history and culture of Washington D.C.; they will visit the Smithsonian twice; attend a concert by the President’s own Marine Band on the White House lawn; tour Ford’s theater and the Holocaust museum; and perform a special wreath laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. The band will also tour Arlington National Cemetery, Vietnam War memorials, and the Washington monument. CHS band director Joel Ashbrook called the outing to the Capitol “a trip of a lifetime.”

This year, the CHS band was composed of 320 members. The band received first place division superior ratings at both marching and concert competitions. Furthermore, it has averaged more than 50 students who have qualified for the Texas State solo competition. This year, the band advanced to Texas UIL State marching bands contest and sent a trumpet player to all-state band.

“The Bobcat Band has had a steadily increasing number of students go head-to-head in contests with much larger schools in the state of Texas and has competed successfully,” Mayor Dwain Morrison said in a letter requesting for the band to appear in the parade.

According to Morrison’s letter, Ashbrook has taught band in Texas for 25 years and is a member of a military family. He holds a master's degree in music and has accumulated several hours towards a doctorate degree. Ashbrook has directed Texas bands that have won many state and national awards; these include two Texas TMEA State Honor bands and the position of assistant director of the Coppell, Texas State High School band, which was privileged to preform full concert at Mozart Opera house in Vienna, Austria. Approximately 40 percent of band students are from military families.

“As an alumni of the Bobcat band, I feel that I am in the position to say this is the best I have ever seen,” said chief of police Tim Vasquez in a letter to the mayor. “To see our band play at a collegiate level has made me very proud of the band members and the staff. They have earned the right to perform in this huge event.”

The Bobcat Band also performed in the Wounded Warriors parade, honoring wounded war heroes who came to San Angelo to hunt according to Vasquez.

“Without Mr. Ashbrook’s help, the parade would not have been near the success it was,” Vasquez said.