By Rob Novit
The Midland Valley High School Band will host its 15th Mustang Classic festival at the school Sept. 29.
A total of 13 bands will participate in the competitive event - including South Aiken High, Silver Bluff High and Ridge Spring-Monetta High, and others from South Carolina and Georgia counties. As the host band, Midland Valley will perform only for a rating.
The Mustangs' director, David Hastings, joined the band program in 2000.
"The years have flown by," he said. "It's challenging in a good way. I get to take these kids, get them to a new level and see them become successful."
The festival is one of the big fundraisers for the band in order to provide transportation, supplies and other needs.
The Mustangs' marching show this season is called "Playback," an original competition for bands. The opening segment is an unusually long three and one-half minutes. It's 36 pages of drill, Hastings said, with the goal of getting the band ready for the AAA Lower State contest next month.
"The show is going very well," he said. "We're very young, but this is a talented group of kids. We're getting them focused and they're making a lot improvement. We're going to be a competitive marching band."
The festival is always a group effort, with parents working with the other bands. As they do during football games, the parents unload percussion equipment and get it and other items in place before the performance, Hastings said.
Senior writer Rob Novit is the Aiken Standard's education reporter and has been with the newspaper since September 2001. He is a native of Walterboro and majored in journalism at the University of Georgia.![]()
The Midland Valley High School Band will host its 15th Mustang Classic festival at the school Sept. 29.
A total of 13 bands will participate in the competitive event - including South Aiken High, Silver Bluff High and Ridge Spring-Monetta High, and others from South Carolina and Georgia counties. As the host band, Midland Valley will perform only for a rating.
The Mustangs' director, David Hastings, joined the band program in 2000.
"The years have flown by," he said. "It's challenging in a good way. I get to take these kids, get them to a new level and see them become successful."
The festival is one of the big fundraisers for the band in order to provide transportation, supplies and other needs.
The Mustangs' marching show this season is called "Playback," an original competition for bands. The opening segment is an unusually long three and one-half minutes. It's 36 pages of drill, Hastings said, with the goal of getting the band ready for the AAA Lower State contest next month.
"The show is going very well," he said. "We're very young, but this is a talented group of kids. We're getting them focused and they're making a lot improvement. We're going to be a competitive marching band."
The festival is always a group effort, with parents working with the other bands. As they do during football games, the parents unload percussion equipment and get it and other items in place before the performance, Hastings said.
Senior writer Rob Novit is the Aiken Standard's education reporter and has been with the newspaper since September 2001. He is a native of Walterboro and majored in journalism at the University of Georgia.