ROBERTSDALE, Alabama -- The Robertsdale High School Golden Bear Band is staying busy with spring competitions in preparation for its Gala and Concert and Spring Banquet next month.

“I’m really proud of our kids,” said RHS Band Director Robin Isherwood. “They’ve worked really hard this year and everything we’ve asked them to do, they’ve given it 110 percent.”

In her eight years as band director, Isherwood said, she has seen a lot of growth with the band, which will host its Spring Gala and Concert from 7:30 to 9 p.m. Thursday, May 2 in the RHS gymnasium. The band will hold its spring banquet beginning at 6 p.m. and concert beginning at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, May 9 in the gym at RHS.

“When I first started there was just the concert band,” she said. Now, in addition to the concert band, RHS is involved in several competitions in March and April leading up to the spring concert, including indoor percussion, winter guard, jazz band, drum line and several small ensemble groups.

Two weeks ago, the wind ensemble, under Isherwood’s direction, and the symphonic band, under the direction of Assistant Band Director David Jordan, competed at the Alabama Bandmasters State Music Performance Assessment at Baker High School.

The wind ensemble received an excellent rating on stage and a superior rating on sight reading, while the symphonic band received superior ratings on both stage and sight reading.

“Superior is like a first place rating and excellent is like second place, but you’re really competing against yourself,” Isherwood said.

Each band performs an on-stage concert performance of three songs and is judged based on its blend, balance, tone, intonation, rhythm, appearance, discipline and music quality.

The week prior to the MPA competition, both bands performed in a pre-competition held at Foley High School and received excellent ratings, Isherwood said.

The winter guard and indoor drum line have also been competing in the Gulf Coast Color Guard and Percussion Circuit competition, receiving first and second place finishes in several competitions, she said.

Over Spring Break, the indoor drum line competed in the Mid-South Championships in Bowling Green, Ky., finishing second in its division. The competition drew more than 50 groups from Alabama, Mississippi, Florida, Louisiana, Arkansas, Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee, Missouri and Pennsylvania. Many of the judges, Isherwood said, were from Boston, New York and California.

On Saturday, March 23, RHS hosted a winter guard competition with 30 guards and two drum lines competing.

Because the judges were hired independently by the Gulf Coast Color Guard and Percussion Circuit, RHS was able to participate and finished first in the competition, Isherwood said.

“It was a big success,” she said.

The RHS lab jazz band will compete against 15 other bands on Friday, April 5 at the University of Mobile. There will also be a clinic given by the competition’s judges at the University of Mobile.

On Saturday, April 6, the RHS drum line and color guard will compete in the Gulf Coast Color Guard and Percussion Circuit Championships at Tate High School in Pensacola.

Beginning Tuesday, April 9, the winter guard will be competing against up to 30 to 50 other groups in the Winter Guard International Worlds Competition in Dayton, Ohio, which draws international competition from the United States, Canada, Japan and Switzerland, among others.

The group qualified in regional competition held in January and will compete in a preliminary competition. The top 13 guards will qualify for the finals competition.

“This is a huge deal,” Isherwood said. “Last year was our first year to compete and Daphne High School Color Guard Instructor Marsha Foster mentored us through that. I can’t tell you how great it is that the schools in this county work together to help each other. You don’t always get that.”

RHS also has four students, Eric Mackey, George Williams, Pierson Gilreath and Megan Nordberg who will compete in the Alabama Band Masters Association’s All-State Festival on April 17-20. Gilreath and Williams will also compete in the All-State Solo Festival.

Individual band members will also compete in the Alabama Band Masters Association Solo and Ensemble Competition May 4 at Spanish Fort Middle School.

RHS will host clinics and auditions for the 2013-14 season beginning in April, starting with drum line clinics, which will be held from 3:30 to 6 p.m. April 8, 15 and 22 for anyone interested in participating in the 2013 drum line. Auditions will be held from 4 to 6 p.m. Monday, April 29.

The RHS auxiliary color guard and majorettes will host a camp April 22-26 from 5:30 to 8 p.m. at the Robertsdale Elementary School multipurpose room with auditions set for Saturday, April 27 beginning with majorette auditions from 10 a.m. to noon, color guard, 1 to 3 p.m. and weapons line from 3 to 4 p.m.

The band’s final performance of the 2012-2013 school year will be held Tuesday, May 21 at the RHS graduation beginning at 7:30 p.m. at J.D. Sellars Stadium.

Summer camps are also just around the corner, Isherwood said, beginning with rookie camp from 3:30 to 5 p.m. May 13-14 and 16-17.

“We’re really excited to host middle schoolers from all of our local feeder programs,” Isherwood said, including Central Baldwin Middle, Summerdale School and Central Christian School in Robertsdale.

Summer rehearsals begin July 9 meeting every Tuesday and Thursday up until the beginning of summer band camp, which begins Monday, July 29 from 1 to 4:30 p.m. and from 6 to 9 p.m. and runs Monday through Friday through Aug. 16.

Isherwood expressed her appreciation for the band’s booster club, which meets from 7 to 8 p.m. the third Tuesday of every month except June in the RHS band room. The next meeting will be held Tuesday, April 16.

On Tuesday, May 14 the booster club will host an eighth grade parent meeting in which the band boosters will introduce themselves and provide information about joining the organization, Isherwood said.

Isherwood said she is really excited about the upcoming season. Included among the season’s highlights, she said, the band has accepted an invitation to participate in the National Cherry Blossom Festival, which will be held in April 2014 in Washington, D.C.

“We’re looking forward to bigger and better things for 2013-14,” she said.