WHO ARE WE?

The Sprayberry High School Band has a long-standing tradition of musical excellence. The band has been awarded hundreds of championship trophies and was named one of the “Best High School Marching Bands in the Country” by Band Director Magazine in 2000.

That reputation reaches beyond marching. In the 1990s, The Instrumentalist magazine surveyed high school band directors nationwide about every part of their programs: marching, concert and jazz honors, how many students study privately, how many earn All-State placement, and how many entries are sent to solo and ensemble festival. The survey was for information, not competition. From hundreds of responses, the magazine named five programs as Benchmark Programs, the “Gold Standard” of band programs in the country. Those five included bands from Texas, Michigan and Virginia, and the Sprayberry High School Band.

Sprayberry High School was founded in 1952 in the Atlanta suburb of Marietta, Georgia. The Band of Gold was founded shortly afterward with the formation of the football program. By the 1970s, the band was already one of the most successful programs in the state, winning local and state marching championships and earning high marks in concert band performance. That excellence continues today, with hundreds of awards from local, state and national music festivals, marching competitions and parades.

The Sprayberry concert program has more than 50 years of superior ratings, festival awards and grand championships. Its bands have performed on grand stages across the country, including the prestigious Carnegie Hall in New York City.

• March 1994: The concert bands performed at the 3rd Annual Bands of America National Concert Band Festival in Chicago, Illinois.

• April 2000: Symphonic I and Symphonic II traveled to New York City for the Performing Arts Consultants of New York Concert Festival. Both bands were named Division Champions, and Symphonic I was named Grand Champion.

• April 2001: Symphonic I and Symphonic II traveled to Anaheim, California for the California Music Showcase Festival. Symphonic II received the First Place Award, and Symphonic I received the Grand Masters Award for all bands attending.

The Sprayberry “Band of Gold” Marching Band is one of the country’s most decorated high school marching bands. Beginning in 1976, the band won grand champion placements every year for more than 20 years, including Bands of America Regionals, Music Bowls, and state and local championships. It has earned high marks in some of the nation’s most popular parades, including the Orange Bowl Parade, the Fiesta Bowl Parade and, in 1993, the Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena, California. The Band of Gold has also performed for governors and two sitting U.S. presidents, Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan. In 1995, the Georgia House of Representatives awarded the band a Commendation for being one of the “premier” high school marching bands in the world.

For decades, Sprayberry Band has upheld a tradition of symphonic and marching excellence, and thousands of alumni have had their lives changed under its directors. The history of the Sprayberry Band is deep, and it is still being written today. 

"Who are we?"