Gallery • 6 Photos

Christopher Pham

Hugging Mrs. Michelle Jamieson, Colette Veldstra gifts her a bouquet of flowers as a sign of appreciation for Jamieson’s first year as the music department’s teacher.

As the school year comes to a close, departments and organizations across campus have begun to host their annual banquets; the music department is no exception. In the cafeteria on April 25, the choir, jazz, marching and symphonic bands all celebrated their accomplishments of the past year, such as first place at the Del Oro High School Critique show, plus expectations for the 2024-25 school year. 

Previous music department banquets were only limited to the marching band but this year’s banquet was open to the entire music department itself, including the choir, jazz, symphonic and orchestra bands. 

“It was really nice to see everyone in the music department and know that they have similar passions to me,” Joy McBride, a choir student, said. 

With the accommodations made at the banquet, students and families who paid $20 were served dishes from Olive Garden, which were catered with the help of the parent volunteers like Janet Kingery, Matthew Kingery and Colette Veldstra. 

Alongside eating and spending time with one another, the event also revealed important information, namely being the new drum major, revealed by former drum majors Angelica Dianala and Mansour Brame. The next drum major will be Lyndee Veldstra, assisted by Claire Nguyen, who will be the assistant drum major. 

“I personally know the two people that were chose for [the] drum major and assistant and I believe that they would work really well together,” Dianala said. “As we were talking things through in the decision-making process, we’ve never done this before at Whitney but it’s a very common practice to have a drum major that’s a senior and an assistant that is [an] underclassman so that the underclassman naturally takes on that place.”

According to the Ohio State University, the role of the drum major requires dedication, skill training and leadership. They also must conduct and decide the different aspects such as volume and timing onto the songs they play during sporting events. 

“I’m very proud of myself that I was able to get myself to that point and [I am] looking forward to all that I can bring to the band next year,” Veldstra said. “[I am excited] to say that I lead the most successful band — I may be a little biased —  [I’m excited to] just live out honestly the dream that I had since freshman year.”

After being announced at the banquet, Jamieson publicized that the music department should look forward to a synth cart for winter percussion, a percussion cabinet and a new amplification for jazz band.

“[Equipment] can wear out over time, and being able to replace them has been great. I hope that with proper maintenance, they can continue to be used for years to come,” Annika Hubba, a winter percussionist, said. 

In addition, Jamieson announced the new Whitney High School Music program website which displays upcoming events as well as ways to support the program. Following the announcements, Jamieson briefly introduced each section of the music department and brought up the 16 seniors from the sections to have them explain their plans for life after high school. 

Jamieson said, “I am most proud of the way the students have been resilient, that they’ve been trusting, that they have followed my leadership and were willing to come along.” 

by TRINITY KIM & CHRISTOPHER PHAM