photo by: Emma Delk

John Marshall High School Steel Drum Band members Samantha Howard, left, and Sydney Gray, right, practice for their upcoming performance at the 79th annual West Virginia Music Educators Association In-Service Conference.

GLEN DALE — Members of the John Marshall High School Steel Drum Band will take their talents to Charleston after they were selected to play at the 79th annual West Virginia Music Educators Association In-Service Conference.

The JM Steel Drum Band was selected as the top high school to perform for the X-Honor Ensemble, an accolade that recognizes non-traditional groups.

Three X-Honor Ensemble finalists are chosen to perform at the conference each year, and competitors must receive a minimum score of 90 to be considered. The JM Steel Drum Band placed first among the three X-Honor Ensembles selected for the conference.

Since the X-Honor Ensemble’s inception in 2016, the JM Steel Drum Band has been selected for this honor five times. Groups are only eligible every other year if they are selected.

To receive this honor again was exciting for JM Band and Theatre Director Tracey Filben, who noted that her students aim to outdo the JM Steel Drum Band students who came before them every year. She credited this “drive” among her students for earning them the accolade every time they were eligible.

“The students have a built-in agenda that they’re always gearing toward,” Filben said. “They want to try to outdo whatever group came before or at least maintain that level of excellence. That is the driving force that helps us maintain that high quality from year to year.”

All students in the JM Steel Drum Brand program will perform at 11:30 a.m. March 7 at the Charleston Civic Center in the Little Theater for the conference.

“The conference is always exciting for the students,” Filben said. “Several of our seniors have actually had the distinct honor of performing all four years of high school because when they could not qualify for Steel Band, they were able to attend through the Percussion Ensemble.”

Filben said the group will perform a wide variety of selections, including songs in traditional steel drum styles such as calypso and reggae and other genres such as jazz and pop. Some crowd favorites Filben said they will play are “Viva La Vida” by Coldplay and “Crazy Little Thing Called Love” by Queen.

JM Steel Band member Megan Gary is most excited to play the piece “A Safe Place” at the conference, which was written by JM percussion instructor Joshua Garrett.

“We play a lot of hard songs,” Gary noted. “It’s definitely challenging at first to learn the songs, but when we all come together to play, it’s a fun time. This is my second time going to the conference, and I’m really excited.”