BAKER - The Baker High Concert Band announced Wednesday they recently won the top musicianship award at the national 2016 Spring Music Festival competition in Orlando.

The band took home the High School Grand Champion Award for Instrumental Music in the competition. Baker High also received a Superior Rating and first place in the High School Class A Concert Band category. It was Baker’s first time participating in the event.

“I wasn’t shocked at our scores,” said Band Director Derrick Walker. “Our kids have been so dedicated, worked so hard and done so much on the very limited resources that we have. I think the judges took note of how professional our kids were from the time they stepped on the stage.”

Competing schools came from across the country to compete, including schools from several states including Alabama, Florida, Georgia and Pennsylvania.

In taking each of the above categories, the band “proved their dedication to their musical education,” according to a letter from the event sponsor. They also were lauded as “exemplary musical goodwill ambassadors for the school and community.”

“It’s always exciting to see how students interpret and infuse their own zeal into the pieces they perform,” E.L. Kleinschmidt, president of Music USA Festival, said in a letter to Walker.

Band Director Derrick Walker says the entire school is proud of the band’s outstanding performance.