On May 2, the Brandon Middle school Wind Ensemble band accomplished what only two other BMS bands have been able to do by earning a first division rating (superior) at the Michigan School Band and Orchestra Association State Band Festival. They qualified for the festival by earning a superior rating at their district band festival in March.
Roy Johnson, BMS band director said this year’s group were unique by upgrading their program to a higher difficulty than required at the festival. Johnson added that, BMS, a class A band, also performed a AA required music list, the most difficult to choose from. Second, only four other class ‘A? bands from middle schools statewide received this rating. Finally, two-thirds of the BMS band is comprised of seventh grade students.