A music instructor at Colonial Forge High School was recently named Stafford County's Teacher of The Year.
Andrew E. Loft, 36, has been the school's director of bands since 1999.
Since then, participation in the program has grown from 81 students to more than 200.
"We have such a distinguished faculty in Stafford County that I just consider this a tremendous honor," Loft said.
Under his leadership, the department's accomplishments include performances at the Kennedy Center and Gov. Tim Kaine's Inaugural Parade.
The wind ensemble will perform at the Jamestown Celebration on May 12, when the Queen of England is set to make an appearance.
Loft started playing the trombone in fifth grade, in part because he said he was hooked by its "noble sound."
In his teacher-of-the-year application, he included a letter from the president of the Virginia Band and Orchestra Directors Association.
"The learning environment Mr. Loft has created continues to provide opportunities for students who may have fallen through the cracks without it," wrote Douglas C. Armstrong, who also is director of bands at Mountain View High.
Even in classes with more then 100 students, Armstrong wrote, the pupils stay focused because Loft gives them respect and expects the same in return.
Students in Loft's program "consistently" earn more than 25 percent of available spots in honor groups, he stated, such as All-County and All-District bands.
Loft's experience includes a two-year stint as instructor of the University of Miami's 230-member "Band of the Hour."
Before coming to Colonial Forge, he traveled to Europe as the director and conductor of an honor concert band.
But Loft first fell in love with music at a church in rural Tennessee.
"My earliest memories of music are of looking up at my father beside me in the church pew, singing 'Amazing Grace' and watching my mother play 'Jesus Loves Me' in children's church.
"I think of riding beside my father in his old Ford pickup listening to 'Flowers on the Wall' by the Statler Brothers on the radio and how precious those times were with my dad."
Jeff Branscome: 540/374-5402
Email: jbranscome@freelancestar.com