Walton High School Marching Raider Band

The Walton Band Program is among the finest to be found in the Southeast.  Emphasis of the program is on Proficiency, Reliability, Integrity, Discipline and Excellence (PRIDE).  Students who participate typically achieve greater success in their high school career – academically, because they are focused and learn time management, and socially, because of the camaraderie and sense of belonging they feel in being part of the largest Walton organization.  Each student feels worthwhile by learning that as an individual, he or she is important to the whole and that effort really does make a difference.

Under the direction of J. Michael Back and Jeffrey H. Pollock and numbering close to 250 students, the program consists of a marching band, four concert bands, two jazz bands, two winter competition guards and numerous other independent ensembles.

During football season, Walton fields a marching band of over 200 students in support of the football team and in local and regional competitions, including Bands of America, where it has been a regional finalist for three consecutive years.  The Walton Marching Raider Band has participated in the 1996 Philadelphia Thanksgiving Parade, the 1998 Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade, the 2001 Outback Bowl Parade and halftime show, and the 2003 and 2010 Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena, California.  The band has earned consistent superior ratings in competition for over 25 years. 

Walton’s Winter Guard is made up of approximately 30 extremely dedicated young women, committed to excellence at “The Sport of the Arts”.  Under the direction of Pepe Ochoa, the guard competes in numerous regional and national competitions.  On April 6, 2001, Walton’s Scholastic A National Guard won the World Championship at the Winter Guard International Championships in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Walton’s Concert Bands are divided developmentally into four groups, ranked by ability.  The Concert Bands I and II and Symphonic Bands I and II perform four to six times each season and participate in the Georgia Music Educators Association, District 12 Band Festival each year.