PARIS, Ky. — The Bourbon County High School marching band recently won the Kentucky Music Educators Association Championship. They also went on to win the Class A National title at the Bands of America National Championships in Indianapolis.

Since 2008, the band has won state nine times and the Class A National title six times.


What You Need To Know

  •  The Bourbon County High School marching band won this year's state championship. This is the second year in a row they have won it

  •  The band also won the Bands of America Class A National title. They have won this title six times since 2008

  •  Tim Gray is the band's new director

  • Drum major, Leslie Castro, who is a senior, has been with the band since she was in 7th grade and enjoyed her time 

Tim Gray is the high school’s new band director. He says the band struggled at the beginning of their season.

“It just took us a while to kind of get on the same page, but once we did, everything kind of accelerated for us,” said Gray.

The marching band practices four out of the five school days during the season.

Even though marching band season is over, the band is practicing holiday music for a concert. (Spectrum News 1/Geraldine Torrellas)

Senior Leslie Castro has been with the band since she was in 7th grade, playing the clarinet for several of those years. Last year, she auditioned to be a drum major and has taken on that role since. While she has been part of a band that has won three state and national titles since she began, it’s the friendships she’s made that truly shaped her experience.

“It’s just been overall the best thing I’ve ever done,” said Castro. “I’ve created another type of family with this band. It’s another family that you can lean on, depend on. Practice makes me excited, I know I’m going to go and have fun.”

Gray felt the support of administration at Bourbon County Schools.

“It’s really cool this year for me being in a new school, seeing some of our admin come out for the band,” said Gray. “I thought that was something that was really nice, that you don’t see in a lot of school districts.”

With winter around the corner, Gray is getting his students ready to perform holiday music for an upcoming concert. Even though the season just ended, he is already thinking about next year’s show.