Bruin band receives high marks at festival

MADISON, Miss. (Tuesday, April 22, 2025) – The Spirit of St. Joe band recently received an Excellent rating in Concert Performance and a Superior rating in Sight Reading at the MAIS Concert Band Festival at Belhaven University.

Band programs from across the state competed in the festival sponsored by the Mid-South Association of Independent Schools. This was the second year the St. Joseph Catholic School band participated.

Excellent is the second highest rating a band could receive. For the Superior rating, the highest a band could receive, band members performed music that they had not seen before.

“This is a young group, and they are small in number,” said Conor Bell, St. Joe’s band director. “However, they are hard-working and have a lot of spirit. The results from the festival only prove how much they have done.”

St. Joseph Catholic School, founded in 1870 by the Sisters of Mercy, offers seventh- through 12th-grade students of all faith backgrounds a rigorous college prep curriculum grounded in the teachings of the Catholic Church.

The school, 308 New Mannsdale Road in Madison just west of the Interstate 55-Mississippi 463 interchange, is accredited by the Mid-South Association of Independent Schools and Cognia.