Fort Zumwalt West High was opened in September of 1998, with approximately 700 students, all in grades 9 and 10.  
Mr. Dale Sharkey was the Band Director, and was assisted by Mrs. Beth Enloe Fritz, who was also the school's Choir
Director.  Mr. Steve Williams was our Percussion Instructor, and Mrs. Cheryl Sharkey was the Color Guard Sponsor.  
The band was mostly comprised of Freshman that year, and didn't even have a band room to meet in.  The group was
enthusiastic, and worked hard at building a foundation for the future.  The Silver Jaguar Brigade was chosen by students
and parents as the ofiicial nickname for the band, and the school fight song was set to the music of "On, Wisconsin," the
fight song of the University of Wisconsin.

In the school's second year, we opened phase two, which included the band room and facilities.  The marching band
competed for the first time, getting brand new uniforms.  The show theme for that year was "Fort Zumwalt Westside
Story."  The music was from Leonard Bernstein's Westside Story.  It included Prologue, Something's Coming, the Jet
Song, Tonight, Maria, Mambo and Somewhere.  The band also participated in District and State Solo and Ensemble
Festival and Large Ensemble Festival for the first time.

The 2000-2001 school year began our first year as a "full-fledged" high school, with all four grade levels.  The band split
into Varsity and JV Band.  We welcomed a new Assistant Band Director, Mr. Mike Davis, and a new Color Guard
Instructor, Ms. Melissa Blank.  The Varsity Band was the competitive marching band, and was by audition.  The band's
show was "Peanuts 2000."  It featured the music of Vince Guaraldi from the Peanuts cartoons.  The band has find
memories of "Big Yellow," a giant yellow flag that stretched from the 30 yard line to the 30 yard line.  It represented
Charlie Brown's shirt, with a black zig zag down the full length of the flag.  FZWHS had its first All-State Band member
when Derek Tichy, on bass trombone, made the Missouri All-State Jazz Band.  At the end of the year, the band took a
trip to Orlando, Florida where they were selected to perform in Disney's Magic Music Days in the evening Spectromagic
Parade.  They performed "It Don't Mean a Thing if it Ain't Got That Swing," and "Birdland."  The jazz band was
selected as a "Disney Featured Performer."  They got the opportunity to perform with a Disney musician on stage!  
That was where we first met Mark Zauss - a phenomenal trumpet player - as our guest soloist.

The following year, 2001-2002, the band program made big strides.  Our field show that year was entitled "...to the Next
Level."  It featured the music "Hair Design," which was based on the Barber of Seville Overture, by Giachino Rossini.  
The band used giant, 8 foot tall mirrors to reflect themselves to achieve visual effects.  We received our first marching
band award - second place at the Francis Howell Marching Invitational.

In 2002-2003, we took a step in a different direction, abandoning our sequined uniforms for our field show, which was
called "The Path Unwinding."  It featured the music from Broadway's version of Disney's the Lion King.  The band
parents spent countless hours sewing custom made African-style pullovers and hats.  We even made a giant Mufasa
appear towards the end of the show!  At All-State Auditions, Zack Donaldson, a sophomore, made the trumpet section
in the Missouri All-State Jazz Band and Jessica Grills, a sophomore on Bass Clarinet, made the Missouri-All State Band.
 Our Varsity Band/Symphonic Winds and Percussion travelled to Springfield, Missouri in May and participated in the
Pride Classic Band Festival, where they received a "I" Rating for Superior Performance and were awarded the
Outstanding Percussion Section.  The program grew more, adding Winter Guard and Winter Drumline for the first time.  
Unfortunately, both our Percussion and Color Guard Instructors both resigned following the completion of those
seasons.  Following the school year, the band travelled to Calgary, Alberta, Canada to march in the Calgary Stampede
Parade.  The band won 4th place in the parade, and was the highest scoring American band in attendance.  Additionally,
they performed for the U.S. Consulate to Western Canada's 4th of July party.


2003-2004 saw the band make a huge leap in quality and consistency.  The show that year was called "Perpetual
Motion," and was set to Minimally Speaking, by Richard Saucedo.  We welcomed a new Guard Instructor, Rich
Tomasello, or "Mr. T."  Mr Dave Mundwiller joined us for a year as our Percussion Instructor.  We had our most
successful marching season, winning 2nd place awards at the Farmington Marching Festival, the Washington Marching
Festival and the Drums Along the River Marching Festival at Riverview Gardens, where we also won the Outstanding
Color Guard trophy and the Outstanding Marching trophy.  Later that season, we won first place at the Francis Howell
Marching Invitational and won the Red "B" class AND second place overall in the Red Division at CMSU's Festival of
Champions.  Zack Donaldson and Jessica Grills both made the All-State Bands once again.  The Winter Guard was very
successful, placing second in finals of the Regional B class in the Mid-Continent Color Guard Association.


The next year, we once again used the music of Richard Saucedo for our field show.  This time, the music and the show
were both called Reflections.  The music was a step up in difficulty, as was the drill design and color guard choreography.
 We had a successful year, winning numerous awards, but it was a bit more of a struggle with more difficult music and
visuals.  Jessica Grills made the All-State Band, once again, on Bass Clarinet, and Danielle Wang, a sophomore clarinetist,
was selected All-State Honorable Mention Band.  During the winter, Mr. Matt Stephens joined our staff as Percussion
Instructor.  The Winter Guard was moved up to Regional A class, and won the MCCGA title in that class.  Our
Symphonic Winds and Percussion returned to the Pride Classic Band Festival, and were joined by Symphonic Band.  
SWP received a "I" Rating for Superior Performance and Symphonic Band received a "II" Rating for Excellence and won
the Outstanding Band in the Maroon Division.  The band travelled to Orlando, Florida in June, and was selected to
perform in the "Remember the Magic Parade" in Honor of Disneyland's 50th Anniversary.  Trumpeter Mark Zauss
performed as a guest artist with the Jazz Band as a Disney Featured Performer.


In 2005-2006 we continued with challenging music, using "Metropolis," by John Meehan of the Blue Devils Drum and
Bugle Corps.  It was an exciting season with great crowd response.  We were awarded Outstanding Percussion and
Outstanding Auxiliary at the Washington Marching Festival.  Ms. Angela Bachler replaced Mr. Mike Davis as our
Assistant Band Director in July.  Jazz Band had an exciting year, being a part of the first annual "Jazz at the Fort"
educational jazz festival, held at Fort Zumwalt South.  Winter Guard was promoted, in the MCCGA, twice.  They
competed for most of the season in the Scholastic B division, placing 5th at finals.  Winter Drumline made a good deal of
improvement, as well, competing in the Public School A Division, finishing 5th, as well.  Many students received "I"
ratings at District Solo and Ensemble Festival, qualifying for State.

2006-2007 was another year of changes.  We welcomed Mr. Christopher Braig, a jazz saxophonist, as the new director of
our jazz program.  Mr. Tomasello resigned as color guard instructor/sponsor, and Ms. Teresa Groseclose has been named
as our new color guard sponsor.  The field show for the fall season is "Elements - Ignis, Aqua, Aer & Terra." The season
was successful, with the band earning 5th place at Farmington and 3rd place plus the Outstanding Percussion Award at
Sullivan.  We ended the season with a 3rd place in class 5A prelims at the University of Missouri and our first finals
berth in three years.   On April 15, 2007, the Silver Jaguar Brigade will march in the National Cherry Blossom Festival
Parade in Washington, D.C.
Fort Zumwalt West High School
1251 Turtle Creek Drive
O'Fallon, MO   63366