By Curt Nette (March 5, 2002)

The George Mason High School concert band received four perfect #1 rankings from the four judges at the three-day District 10 Band Festival, Friday night at Jeb Stuart High School in Arlington. The 50-member band performed three prepared pieces including "The Light Eternal" by James Swearingen, "Sovereign Variants" by James Curnow and a march, "Noble Men" by Henry Fillmore. They also sight read (performed a never-before-seen piece without rehearsal) for the judges. 

They were the only band to receive all #1 rankings out of the Friday group of bands. Many of the participating schools have student populations of over 3000 and send multiple bands to the festival. This is a huge accomplishment for a school this size. 

Credit goes to band director Mary Jo Webster who came to Falls Church 4 years ago as the sole instrumental music teacher and raised the bar for performance in all of the City’s schools. She prepared the band with a pre-festival concert, additional evening rehearsals and mock judging clinics held with former judges and neighboring band directors. Thanks should also be given to assistant director Larry Allen and middle school director Connie Jenkins for nurturing the fine instrumental music program over the past few years. Congratulations to all the student musicians and outstanding music faculty that made this first-ever #1 ranking for the band possible.