Stratford High 11th graders Santiago Balagtas and Emmitt Bryant have been selected for the South Carolina Band Director’s Association Honors Jazz Combo for 2024. The will perform at the South Carolina Music Educator Association’s professional development conference in February.
They are two of three Berkeley County School District students who were selected for this highly-coveted eight-member ensemble. Read full story here.
This opportunity is open to exceptional state high school jazz students who undergo a rigorous audition process, including performing two jazz solos to demonstrate their improvisations skills.
The ensemble is comprised of one alto sax, one tenor sax, one trumpet, trombone, vibraphone, keyboard, drum set, and a bass player. Balagtas is a trumpet player and Bryant is a trombone player in Stratford High’s band program. Chandler is alto sax player at Goose Creek High.
All students selected for the ensemble will convene on Feb. 10 for an intensive rehearsal session led by distinguished college director and former Goose Creek High alumni, Dr. David Carter.
The duo are highly active members of their school’s band program and recently scored spots in Berkeley County School District’s High School Honor Band and the High School Honor Jazz Band.
Their background in music dates back to their middle school years working under band director Ronnie Ward at Westview Middle. When they entered Stratford as freshmen, band director Greg Priest encouraged the two of them to consider jazz band.
“It’s a bit of a change of pace – you definitely have to work hard,” Bryant said. “I think band is really good for you because it teaches you…balance, working and doing all this other stuff.”
Both say jazz band has turned out to be their favorite band to perform with at school.
“It’s a music you can feel,” Balagtas said.
As the two of them continued to flourish in their high school’s band program, they were among a group of highly-skilled jazz performers at the school who were further encouraged to audition for the SCBDA Honors Jazz Combo. The duo said with Priest’s guidance, they put a lot of after-school hours into recording music as part of the jazz combo audition process.
Priest said he is incredibly proud of Balagtas and Bryant for the time and effort they have put into their jazz technique this past year.
“As musicians, growth is always our highest goal,” Priest said. “These two individuals have truly embraced that mindset and their efforts have earned them seats in the highly competitive SCBDA All-State Jazz Combo for the 2023-2024 school year.
“They will learn a tremendous amount from their clinician, Dr. David Carter, and the clinic will be an experience they remember for a lifetime,” Priest added.
The students also spoke highly of Priest and band director Josh Artz.
“They’re amazing teachers,” Balagtas said. “We really would not be in the position that we’re in right now without them.”
“They definitely hold very high expectations to their students,” Bryant said. “Their reasoning is, if you hold the students to the highest expectations, they’re going to rise to meet them.”
Neither are sure if they plan to pursue music at a collegiate level yet, but both will say how impactful band has been on their high school experience.
“Music is a very, very big factor in my life right now and I think it’ll stay a big factor,” Balagtas said.
