The Trailblazer Marching Band and Color Guard:
The Trailblazer Marching Band and Color Guard is a competitive group that performs at all home football games and at parades and competitions throughout the state. The band is a member of the Western Band Association (WBA) where they compete in division AAA.
The band has rehearsals throughout the summer and a mandatory band camp starts which 2.5 weeks before the school year. During the fall semesters the band has rehearsals each Monday and Thursday nights from 6:00pm-9:00pm. Each member must be enrolled in either the Wind Ensemble, Concert Band, percussion class, color guard class.
Wind Ensemble (Advanced):
The Wind Ensemble is the advanced ensemble that is made up of different woodwind, brass, and percussion instruments.The band performs orchestral transcriptions, traditional band pieces, and new works written for band. The Golden West Concert Band can be seen in performance from December through June at different festivals and concerts.
Each year, The Concert Band gets the opportunity to work with guest clinicians. Recent guests include Tim Smith- Professor Emeritus Cal Sate East Bay, Dr. Gary P. Gilroy-CSU Fresno, Dr. Lawrence Sutherland-Professor Emeritus CSU Fresno, Dr. Erik Leung-Fresno Pacific University, Dale Engstrom-Fresno City College, Dr. Leo Sakamoto-CSU Bakersfield, Michael Tackett-College of the Sequoias, and Jeff Bilden-Professor Emeritus College of the Sequoias.
Concert Band (Intermediate):
The Concert Band is the intermediate ensemble that is made up of different woodwind, brass, and percussion instruments.The band performs orchestral transcriptions, traditional band pieces, and new works written for band. The concert band places a high priority on fundamentals and is the perfect place for wind ensemble musicians to practice performing on a secondary instrument.
Jazz Band:
The Jazz Band is an ensemble that employs traditional Big Band instrumentation (saxes, trumpets, trombones, and rhythm section). You can catch the jazz band at festivals and community events throughout the state of California performing music of varying styles that include dance-band, swing, Latin, funk, contemporary jazz, and etc. The Jazz Band is an auditioned group and it rehearses during 5th period. Auditions for the group are held each May or June.
Color Guard:
The Color Guard is a performing ensemble that sets dance, flag work, and weapon work to a musical soundtrack. The Color Guard is an auditioned group that competes in two separate seasons. The guard competes as a part of the marching band between the months of August and December and they compete in their own winter season between January and April. The Winter Guard is an active member in The San Joaquin Valley Color Guard and Percussion Review (SJVCGPR), the newly created South Valley Winter Arts Association (SVWAA), and Winter Guard International (WGI). Each member must be in the 6th period color guard class, attend the two night rehearsals each week, and occasional weekend rehearsals.Auditions are held in May and any Golden West or Valley Oak student is able to audition.
Indoor Percussion Ensemble:
The Indoor Percussion Ensemble is an auditioned group that combines the marching percussion (drum line) with the front ensemble (pit) to compete in an indoor performance venue. The group performs in competitions and exhibitions throughout the Central Valley between the months of January and April. The Indoor Percussion Ensemble is an active member in The San Joaquin Valley Color Guard and Percussion Review (SJVCGPR), the newly created South Valley Winter Arts Association (SVWAA), and Winter Guard International (WGI). Each member must be in the 6th period percussion class, attend the two night rehearsals each week, and attend occasional weekend rehearsals.Auditions are held in early December and any Golden West student is able to audition.