By MICKEY RATLIFF
WCHS Band Director

The Warsaw Community High School Concert Band and Wind Ensemble each earned gold ratings at their respective contests recently.

The WCHS Concert Band, under the direction of Emily Mikel, earned an overall Gold rating and received gold ratings from all four judges at the Indiana State School Music Association Organizational Contest held at Elkhart Memorial High School on April 25.  Three of the judges awarded the band gold ratings for their prepared program, while one judge evaluated their ability to perform a new piece of music on sight. The concert band earned a gold rating from the sight-reading judge as well.

The WCHS Wind Ensemble earned an overall Gold rating at the ISSMA State Qualifications Contest held at Chesterton High School on May 2. The Wind Ensemble also earned Gold ratings from each of the four contest judges – three evaluating their prepared program and one in sight-reading. The wind ensemble is under the direction of Mickey Ratliff.

The WCHS Concert Band and Wind Ensemble will next perform on Thursday, May 21, when they present their annual Pops Concert in the WCHS Performing Arts Center. This concert is free and open to the public. For more information, contact the WCHS Performing Arts Center at (574) 371-5037.