Band

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2025 Marching Band Handbook
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The Buford Band of Wolves has been a part of Buford High School’s story from the very beginning and remains a thriving part of the school and community to this day. The 190 member Marching Band of Wolves has been named class champion countless times in its history, was named Grand Champion on multiple occasions in recent history, and was selected as a Bands of America Regional Finalist for the first time in school history in 2023. The Buford Wind Ensemble is the premier instrumental music ensemble on campus, with a long history of superior performances. The band performed as part of the Music for All Southeastern Regional Concert Festival at Georgia State university in 2023. Students in the Wind Ensemble have also achieved great individual success, with students selected to the Atlanta Symphony Youth Orchestra, the Atlanta Youth Wind Symphony, the Metropolitan Youth Symphony Orchestra, the Youth Orchestra of Los Angeles, the Gwinnett Symphony Youth Orchestra, and other metro-Atlanta honor ensembles. Members have also been Regional winners in the MTNA solo competition and twelve members of the Wind Ensemble were named as members of the Georgia All-State Bands in 2023.

BUFORD BAND OF WOLVES STAFF

Erik Mason has served as the Director of Bands at Buford High School since 2020. Prior to his arrival at Buford he was the band director at Mill Creek High School for fourteen years. While at MCHS, Mr. Mason’s bands were consistent grand champions at marching band competitions, ten time Bands of America Regional Finalists, three time BOA Class AAAA Regional Champions, invited performers at eight different university events, performers at the 2017 GMEA In-Service Conference, and a Featured Band at the 2019 Music for All National Concert Band Festival in Indianapolis. Additionally, winter guards, indoor percussion, and winter winds groups under Mr. Mason’s supervision saw great success, being named seventeen time SAPA medalists, seven time WGI Finalists, and two time WGI Winds World Championship Silver Medalists.

Mr. Mason holds Bachelor of Music and Master of Music Education degrees from the University of Georgia, and his Education Specialist degree at Auburn University.  His professional affiliations include Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia, Pi Kappa Lambda, NAfME, GMEA, the National Band Association, the Western Band Association, the Central States Judges Association, and Youth Music of the World. He lives in Hoschton with his wife Kathy, the band director at Buford Middle School, and their three children Aria, Alie, and Clay- all current or former members of the Buford High School bands!

Bridget Wildes has been a member of the Buford High School Fine Arts Department since 2020, after serving seven years as the Associate Director of Bands at Mill Creek High School in Hoschton, Georgia.  Mrs. Wildes is a native of Lawrenceville, Georgia and received her Bachelor of Music in Music Education from Georgia State University in 2013, and Master of Music in Music Education in 2019 from Kent State University, and is currently pursuing her Education Specialist degree from Auburn University. Mrs. Wildes currently assists with all aspects of the band program at Buford High School and serves as the Fine Arts Department Chair and Tri-M Sponsor.

While at Buford, the band program has received consistent superior ratings at LGPE and the Wind Ensemble has been invited to perform at the 2023 Music for All Southeastern Regional Concert Festival and the 2024 UGA January Festival. The Band of Wolves has grown to 190 members and was recently named a 2023 and 2024 Bands of America Regional Finalist. Her ensembles have been invited to perform at the Kennesaw State University Concert Band Invitational, the Music for All Southeastern Regional Concert Band Festival at Georgia State University, the Georgia Music Educators Association In-Service Conference, the University of Georgia January Music Festival, the University of Alabama Honor Band Clinic and the 2019 Music for All National Concert Band Festival as a featured ensemble. The marching band was a consistent grand champion at marching band competitions, ten time Bands of America Regional Finalist, and three time BOA Class AAAA Regional Champion, while the Mill Creek Winds were also named two time WGI Winds World Championship Silver Medalists. 

Bridget Wildes is an active clinician, adjudicator and freelance musician, as well as a member of the Georgia Music Educators Association and the National Band Association.  She is the current District 13 High School Band Chair, and plays an active role in the organization of District 13 events. She has presented twice at the GMEA In-Service Conference, and has also been an invited clinician at the Georgia State University Summer Leadership Institute and Georgia State University Double Reed Day. Bridget and her husband, Jacob, reside in Flowery Branch with their three children Caleb, Kerry Beth, and Benjamin - all little wolves in Buford City Schools!

Matt Groves is the Director of Percussion Studies at both Buford Middle and Buford High School. He has been involved with the Buford family since 2019 and has helped grow the percussion program from 23 to 63 students throughout the school system. He also presents clinics and arranges full percussion scores for marching bands throughout the southeast. Prior to his position with Buford, Matt was the percussion caption head and arranger for the Georgia Tech Yellow Jacket Marching Band, a position he held for ten years. Matt has also held instructional staff positions at Spirit of Atlanta Drum & Bugle Corps (snare technician), Collins Hill High School (ensemble technician), North Gwinnett High School (battery caption head), and Q2 Independent Drumline (front ensemble caption head), and has been a performing member of the Atlanta Falcons Drumline, and the Atlanta Pipe Band. 

 Matt holds a degree in Music Education from the University of Georgia where he performed as a member of the UGA Wind Ensemble, Percussion Ensemble, and Redcoat Band. Matt is a member of the Percussive Arts Society, Georgia Music Educators Association, and is an educational artist for Innovative Percussion. Matt lives in Lawrenceville with his wife Katie, and their two children, Sam and Charlotte.

Madison Mitchell is the director of color guard since joining the program in 2020. She is currently pursuing a Doctorate in Occupational Therapy at Georgia State University. Prior to this she earned a Bachelor of Science in Exercise Science from Kennesaw State University. With over ten years of experience as a performer in the marching arts, Madison has performed with renowned groups such as Edge Independent Winter Guard, Paramount Winter Guard and the Blue Devils Drum and Bugle Corps. Additionally, she was a part of the instructional staff with Georgia State University Panther Band in 2023 and currently serves on the instructional staff at Georgia Winter Guard. Madison also holds an advisory board position with the Southern Association for Performing Arts helping to create resources and build mutually enriching relationships for the association. 

Additional Staff Members

Cale Brown - Marching Band

Tyler Gamble - Marching Band

Mike Makrides - Percussion

Janet Meador - Color Guard

Cole Shirk - Color Guard

Sectional Faculty

Dr. Katherine Emeneth, Flute

Bryan Green, Clarinet

Dr. Bart Walters, Saxophone

Vince Bingham, Trumpet

Dr. Andrew Sehmann, Horn

Destiny Miskel, Trombone

Dr. Paul Dickinson, Euphonium & Tuba