Editor: Shannon Cottongame
January 12, 2022
Whitney High School band member Jonah Cottongame has been selected as a member of the 2022 Association of Texas Small School Bands (ATSSB) All-State Band.
Cottongame, a sophomore, was chosen for the honor in competitive auditions held this year across the state at region and area levels. He is a student of Whitney High School Band Director Josh Nowlin and Assistant Director Michael Wilson.
He is the first Whitney High School percussionist to make the all-state band.
More than 10,000 high school band students from across Texas auditioned in 22 different regions for a place in their respective all-region bands. The top chairs in each region advanced to one of the five area auditions held last weekend across the state, and only 286 of these students were selected for all-state honors.
The ATSSB All-State Bands will meet in rehearsals in San Antonio, February 9-12, and will present a concert beginning at 8:30 a.m. Saturday, February 12, in the Lila Cockrell Theatre of the Henry B. Gonzales Convention Center in downtown San Antonio.
Cottongame plays percussion instruments as a member of the Wildcat marching band and bass for the school’s jazz band under the direction of Nowlin and Wilson, who are members of the ATSSB.
The ATSSB is a 1,257-member group of band directors in class 1A, 2A, 3A and 4A high schools in Texas.
For more details about the band’s accomplishments, see the accompanying article by Josh Nowlin.
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