Band Program

South Whidbey School District offers band as an elective for grades 6-12.  For the serious students, middle school and high school students can audition for the Jazz Bands.  For the high school students, the Jazz Band is a third period elective.  For the middle school students, the jazz band is a zero period, non-credit club.  These middle school students come an hour before school starts for class. 

Questions? Grades 6-12 Band Teacher /Director Catherine Ballestrassa- cballestrasse@sw.wednet.edu. 

The bands perform locally in the SWHS/MS auditorium, at the Whidbey Island Center for the Arts (WICA), and by invitation.  The bands have participated at the Clark College Jazz Festival (Vancouver, WA),  the Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival (University of Idaho), the Kiwanis Vancouver BC Jazz Festival, Essentially Ellington Jazz Festival (New York), Monterey Jazz Festival (California),  Music in the Parks Band Festival,  Bellevue College Jazz Festival, Newport High School Jazz Festival,  the WinterFest at the Seattle Center, the Honor Band and SNOKING events at the Edmonds Performing Arts Center, and many more events throughout the year. 

These off island performances and competitions are supported by the South Whidbey Performing Arts Boosters  (PAB) through their fundraising efforts.  To join or support the PAB, click here or email swsdpab@gmail.com.

The state of Washington recognizes that the arts are an integral part of every student’s educational experience. The 2017 Arts K–12 Learning Standards for Dance, Media Arts, Music, Theatre, and Visual Arts provide a framework for effective K–12 arts education by setting out a coherent structure for building students’ knowledge, understanding, and skills, while also encouraging them to explore and express their own creativity. These standards include the National Core Arts Standards, along with additional content developed by K–12 educators in the arts. These educators came together from across the state to participate in the Arts Cadre, which developed “suggestions for students” and “examples” to accompany the standards, thereby providing more specificity and practical ideas for demonstrating the knowledge and skills indicated.

This link connects to the Washington State Learning Standards for the Arts.  These standards are used in a variety of classes and programs throughout the district's K-12 programs.

Welcome to Catherine Ballestrasse, Ms. B!

Catherine Ballestrasse began her musical career here at South Whidbey School District. From 5th grade till graduation, she was under the direction of the former band director, Chris Harshman. After a year of playing clarinet, Ms. Ballestrasse switched to tenor saxophone in middle school and immediately fell in love with the instrument. While saxophone is her primary, she also enjoys playing percussion, steel pan, and trombone.

Ms. Ballestrasse is a recent graduate from Pacific Lutheran University, with a degree in Secondary Music Education. During her time there, she performed in numerous ensembles and was able to tour internationally. Ms. Ballestrasse completed her student teaching at Oak Harbor School District in 2024, where she co-taught intermediate band as well as high school jazz and wind ensembles. Outside of teaching, Ms. Ballestrasse enjoys performing in the South Sound Saxophone Ensemble, saxophone quartets, and jazz combos.

South Whidbey School District’s music program has a long history of excellence, including earning top honors at music festivals in Idaho, Washington, Vancouver B.C., qualifying for a national competition in Georgia in 2020, and performing at other National Festivals, including the Monterey Jazz Festival in California and the Essentially Ellington Jazz Festival in NYC— which, in Harshman’s words, is “ the Super Bowl for high school jazz.” As a South Whidbey alumnus, Ms. Ballestrasse is dedicated to preserving the legacy Chris Harshman has built and will continue to foster a thriving music program. Ms. Ballestrasse and Mr. Harshman will be working closely to ensure a smooth transition between directors.