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Hallie E. Watson, a 2018 Randolph-Henry High School graduate, has recently been elected president of the Shenandoah Conservatory Chapter of the National Association for Music Education for the upcoming school year.

Watson, a member of the RHHS Marching Statesmen throughout her high school career, is studying at the Shenandoah Conservatory, affiliated with Shenandoah University in Winchester, Va., to become a band director.

“I am honored to have been chosen as president,” Watson said. “I look forward to working with other music students in our area and beyond to encourage the development of the music program here at Shenandoah and throughout our region. This is a challenge and an opportunity.”

Watson won the prestigious John Phillip Sousa Award at Randolph Henry, where she studied clarinet, baritone and saxophone under the direction of Derek Ramsey.

“My experiences with our excellent high school band solidified my intention to pursue a career in music,” she said.

While at Randolph-Henry, she was also a member of the BETA Club honor society and a member of the Lady Statesman softball team.

She has continued to maintain close ties with her alma mater and has helped to coordinate the Randolph-Henry summer band camps during the 2018-19 sessions. During her time at RHHS, she worked with the group at various locations including Botetourt, Pulaski, Glenvar, Keysville, Chase City, Brookneal, South Hill and also including trips to New York, Hershey, Pennsylvania and Gatlinburg, Tennessee.

Since her enrollment at Shenandoah Conservatory, Watson has concentrated on instrumental music, is part of the wind ensemble, the clarinet choir, and has performed in several programs on campus as well as being an invited performer in a concert by the New Orchestra of Washington at the Church of the Epiphany in Washington, D.C.

She has studied under Timothy Roblee and Dr. Garrick Zoeter.

Her family lives in Drake’s Branch including her parents, Tim and Hollie Watson, and siblings Jonathan, Tyler and Will.