History of the Blue VAlley West Bands
Marching Band Awards and Honors
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Marching Show Archive
2010 - Let There Be Light 2011 - Car Men 2012 - The Next Step 2013 - Batter Up! 2014 - Inside Out 2015 - Nature's Edge 2016 - Pageant 2017 - Call of the Wild 2018 - One World 2019 - Spirit of Spain 2020 - Season Cancelled due to COVID-19 2021 - Skewed 2022 - The Fountain 2023 - Welcome to the Jungle 2024 - |
Kansas Bandmasters Association Championships
2017 - Champion 2018 - Champion 2019 - 3rd Place 2021 - 9th Place 2022 - 5th Place 2023 - 6th Place London New Years Day Parade
2010 2023 |
Bands of America Grand Nationals Participant
Bands of America Regional Finalist
2005 - St. Louis Super Regional 2006 - St. Louis Super Regional 2023 - Des Moines Regional Bands of America Regional Participant
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Concert, Jazz, & Percussion Awards and Honors
Music for All National Concert Festival
2016 - Wind Ensemble
2016 - Wind Ensemble
Kansas Music Educator's Association In-Service Workshop
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Wind Ensemble
2010 2013 2015 2018 2022
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Symphonic Band
2020 |
Jazz Ensemble I
2003 2018 |
BVW Percussion Ensemble
2015 2020 2023
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Wind Ensemble Performance at Carnegie Hall
2006 |
Wind Ensemble Performance at Kennedy Center
2017 |
Jazz Ensemble Performance at JEN Conference - New Orleans - 2020
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KU Jazz Festival Winning Band - Jazz Ensemble I
2016
2017
2020
2017
2020
Color Guard Awards and Honors
Mid-Continent Color Guard Association
Scholastic Class A Silver Medalist - 2022
Student Honors
Director History
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Director of Bands
Dr. Craig Miller: 2001 - 2008 Mark Nichols: 2008 - 2010 Daniel Kirk: 2010 - 2013 Cheryl Lee: 2013 - 2020 Justin Love: 2020 - present |
Assistant Director of Bands
Carolyn Knapp: 2001 - 2011 C.J. Longabaugh: 2011 - 2013 Joe Stuever: 2013 - 2017 Spencer Merryfield: 2017 - 2020 Ryan Ramsey: 2020 - 2023 Abigail Lyche: 2023 - present |
Blue Valley West High School first opened its doors in the Fall of 2001, and that year the Blue Valley West Bands played their first notes under the direction of Dr. Craig Miller. In the ensuing twenty years, the Blue Valley West Bands have established a reputation for excellence in all aspects of the program which is reflected in the impressive record of accomplishments and awards that adorn the walls of room 648. Year in and year out the band program provides students with high quality performance opportunities and experiences to grow not just as musicians, but as individuals. The Blue Valley West Band Program remains a positive place of connection for countless students, parents, and alumni who are forever linked as members of the Blue Valley West Band Family. The program seeks to instill the values of Family, Pride, Grit, and Excellence in each of its members and strives to exemplify those ideals in each and every rehearsal and performance.
The core of the Blue Valley West Band Program are the three Concert Ensembles. While their names have changed some through the years, they maintain a commitment to a high performance standards. The Wind Ensemble has earned 4 invitations to perform at the KMEA In-Service Workshop, and also performed at the 2016 Music for All National Concert Festival, only the third band from the state of Kansas to be invited to this prestigious event. The Wind Ensemble has also performed at both Carnegie Hall in New York City and the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. The Symphonic Band has also performed at the KMEA In-Service Workshop, one of only a handful of high school “second bands” in Kansas to ever receive such an invitation.
The Marching Band has existed in a couple of different iterations. First known as the Red and Silver Brigade, which included all band members, in 2016 the marching band was split into a two-track experience including the Traditional Marching Band (TMB) for all students and a voluntary extra-curricular ensemble known as the Competitive Marching Band (CMB.) Following the COVID cancelled 2020 marching season, the singular format co-curricular Red and Silver Brigade returned for the fall of 2021. Regardless of the format, the marching band program was established with aspirational goals, which have resulted in numerous accolades and earned considerable competitive success. The Blue Valley West Marching Band has been a Bands of America Regional Finalist and has taken the field at the BBOA Grand Nationals three times. The Blue Valley West Marching Band is a two-time Kansas Bandmasters Association Champion, and has also performed in London for the New Years Day Parade.
The Jazz Program has also afforded students consistent high level performance experiences and recognition including being named the Winning Band at the University of Kansas Jazz Festival several times and an invite to perform at the KMEA In-Service Workshop.
The Percussion Program at West offers students the opportunity to develop their performance skills and musicianship through an ensemble experience. The extra-curricular Jaguar Percussion Group has performed at the Kansas Day of Percussion, PASIC Conference, and the KMEA In-Service Workshop.
The Color Guard is the newest group to develop within the Band Program, and it has also achieved a consistent level of performance success. In the fall Color Guard performs with the marching band, and then forms one or two scholastic Winter Guards that compete in the MCCGA (Mid-Continent Color Guard Association) circuit each spring.
Individually Blue Valley West students have excelled earning an impressive roster of positions in the KMEA All-District and KMEA All-State Ensembles as well as chairs in the BOA National Honor Bands and NAfME All-National Honor Ensembles.
As impressive as these accomplishments are, more importantly they represent the dedication, effort, and passion the students, parents, and instructors of the Blue Valley West Bands have invested in the program throughout its existence. While performance opportunities in the 2019-2020 and 2020-2021 school years have been severely impacted by the COVID pandemic, the program nonetheless enters its third decade with the same high expectations and lofty goals that have always guided the its caretakers and members. We look forward to bright days ahead!
The core of the Blue Valley West Band Program are the three Concert Ensembles. While their names have changed some through the years, they maintain a commitment to a high performance standards. The Wind Ensemble has earned 4 invitations to perform at the KMEA In-Service Workshop, and also performed at the 2016 Music for All National Concert Festival, only the third band from the state of Kansas to be invited to this prestigious event. The Wind Ensemble has also performed at both Carnegie Hall in New York City and the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. The Symphonic Band has also performed at the KMEA In-Service Workshop, one of only a handful of high school “second bands” in Kansas to ever receive such an invitation.
The Marching Band has existed in a couple of different iterations. First known as the Red and Silver Brigade, which included all band members, in 2016 the marching band was split into a two-track experience including the Traditional Marching Band (TMB) for all students and a voluntary extra-curricular ensemble known as the Competitive Marching Band (CMB.) Following the COVID cancelled 2020 marching season, the singular format co-curricular Red and Silver Brigade returned for the fall of 2021. Regardless of the format, the marching band program was established with aspirational goals, which have resulted in numerous accolades and earned considerable competitive success. The Blue Valley West Marching Band has been a Bands of America Regional Finalist and has taken the field at the BBOA Grand Nationals three times. The Blue Valley West Marching Band is a two-time Kansas Bandmasters Association Champion, and has also performed in London for the New Years Day Parade.
The Jazz Program has also afforded students consistent high level performance experiences and recognition including being named the Winning Band at the University of Kansas Jazz Festival several times and an invite to perform at the KMEA In-Service Workshop.
The Percussion Program at West offers students the opportunity to develop their performance skills and musicianship through an ensemble experience. The extra-curricular Jaguar Percussion Group has performed at the Kansas Day of Percussion, PASIC Conference, and the KMEA In-Service Workshop.
The Color Guard is the newest group to develop within the Band Program, and it has also achieved a consistent level of performance success. In the fall Color Guard performs with the marching band, and then forms one or two scholastic Winter Guards that compete in the MCCGA (Mid-Continent Color Guard Association) circuit each spring.
Individually Blue Valley West students have excelled earning an impressive roster of positions in the KMEA All-District and KMEA All-State Ensembles as well as chairs in the BOA National Honor Bands and NAfME All-National Honor Ensembles.
As impressive as these accomplishments are, more importantly they represent the dedication, effort, and passion the students, parents, and instructors of the Blue Valley West Bands have invested in the program throughout its existence. While performance opportunities in the 2019-2020 and 2020-2021 school years have been severely impacted by the COVID pandemic, the program nonetheless enters its third decade with the same high expectations and lofty goals that have always guided the its caretakers and members. We look forward to bright days ahead!
