Welcome to the Southaven High School Band program. We have become one of the school’s most positive image-projecting mediums for the student body, faculty, and the surrounding community. From Presidential visits to Inaugural Parades to Bands of America Invitations, we are currently enjoying a period of unprecedented growth, success, and exposure. Our standard of performance has also risen to new heights. Superior ratings in all categories are no longer dreams…they are expectations. Championships are no longer goals…they are accomplishments. With the new year comes the excitement of new goals and challenges. It has been and always will be our goal to make the Southaven Band Program one of the finest in the country.

We will continue to strive, through various aspects of the program, to educationally fulfill each student’s aesthetic potential. In doing so, we hope to enrich the lives of our students for the present and the future. We will also continue to emphasize the civics of team membership. Understanding how individual talent, dedication, and sacrifice can contribute to organizational accomplishment is a lesson not found in every classroom. In our classroom it is a daily occurrence. It is our hope that this aspect of membership will prepare our students for the future. We hope to provide worthwhile educational experiences that will become enjoyable, memorable, and life enhancing.

The words desire, discipline, dedication, and sacrifice are all directional road signs on the path we have chosen to travel. These attributes are immediately rewarded when the Southaven Band performs for an evaluating public. Whether on the field or on the stage, the immediate return for lengthy investment is unparalleled. Few human beings experience those moments in life when, through accomplishment and achievement, the "goose bumps" rise, the tears may well, and the chest fills with pride. There is no moment in time quite like the one in which your audience showers its approval through applause and ovation as you stand before them. Physically and mentally fatigued, you realize the growth you’ve experienced as you look back upon the path that brought you to this moment. We offer you that opportunity. Few activities require the vast amounts of knowledge, skill, athleticism and time as the Southaven Band; however, few activities will support your self-respect and give you a sense of achievement as will the Southaven Band.

In order to continue the level of accomplishment we currently enjoy, we cannot rely on tradition or habit. We must combine perseverance, talent, sweat, and fatigue with simple virtues like honesty, decency, courage, pride, musicianship, and public spirit. A legacy is not merely something that has been left for you. It is also something you leave for others. What will your legacy be? Will you leave something worthwhile? Will you add to the pyramid of accomplishment? Will you be remembered?

Our goal is to provide a reason for you to strive for total commitment, to give of yourself, to create memories and friendships, and for you to experience the thrill of enriching the lives of others through your music and performances. Our goal is to make a difference in your life, the lives of those around you, and the lives of your audience. What will your goal be? Remember, there are no unrealistic goals, only unrealistic time frames.

Andy Sanders

Director of Bands

Southaven, Mississippi