The John Philip Sousa Band Award

The Sousa Award is the pinnacle of achievement in a high school band. Introduced in 1955 to honor the top student in the high school band, the Sousa Award recognizes superior musicianship and outstanding dedication. Winners’ names are entered into the National Sousa Registry, a permanent record of students’ achievements open for viewing by friends, family, and college admission departments. Go to www.sousawinners.com to view all current and past winners from across the country.

The Sousa Award was introduced at GGHS in 1978. View all GGHS Sousa Award winners here.

The National School Orchestra Award

The National School Orchestra Award is the highest honor bestowed upon a member of the high school orchestra to recognize excellence in playing and contributions to the ensemble.

The NSO Award was introduced at GGHS in 1978. View all GGHS NSO Award winners here.

The Director’s Award for Band

The Director’s Award for Band honors a top musician and dedicated member of the high school band. This award is presented as a runner-up to the John Philip Sousa Band Award.

The Director’s Award for Band was introduced at GGHS in 2023. View all GGHS Director’s Award for Band winners here.

The Director’s Award for Orchestra

The Director’s Award for Orchestra honors a top musician and dedicated member of the high school orchestra. This award is presented as a runner-up to the National School Orchestra Award.

The Director’s Award for Orchestra was introduced at GGHS in 2023. View all GGHS Director’s Award for Orchestra winners here.

The Unity Award

The Garden Grove High School Instrumental Music Unity Award is presented to the band or orchestra senior who most embodies the program’s core value of Unity. They bind the group together and unite students of different backgrounds to help create something larger than themselves.

The Unity Award was introduced at GGHS in 2014. View all Unity Award winners here.

The Integrity Award

The Garden Grove High School Instrumental Music Integrity Award is presented to the band or orchestra senior who most embodies the program’s core value of Integrity. They exemplify what it means to be an outstanding musician and student, as well as a responsible and compassionate citizen and human being.

The Integrity Award was introduced at GGHS in 2014. View all Integrity Award winners here.

The Legacy Award

The Garden Grove High School Instrumental Music Legacy Award is presented to the band or orchestra senior who most embodies the program’s core value of Legacy. Their dedication and contributions to the program will leave a lasting impact on generations of future Argo musicians to come.

The Legacy Award was introduced at GGHS in 2014. View all Legacy Award winners here.

The Outstanding Color Guard Award

The Garden Grove High School Outstanding Color Guard Award is presented to a dedicated color guard member who rose above expectations to contribute the most to the success of the color guard and band during the school year.

The Outstanding Color Guard Award was introduced at GGHS in 1983. View all Outstanding Color Guard Award winners here.

Retired Awards

The Director’s Award was introduced at GGHS in 1989 and retired in 2022, to be replaced by the Director’s Award for Band and Director’s Award for Orchestra. This award was presented to one band or orchestra member who embodied the qualities the director wished to see in every student. View all GGHS Director’s Award winners here.

The Louis Armstrong Jazz Award was introduced at GGHS in 1978, and retired in 2015. The award was presented to honor the most outstanding jazz musician in the program. View all GGHS Louis Armstrong Award winners here.

The Outstanding Service Award was introduced at GGHS in 1986 and retired in 2022. The award was presented to one band or orchestra student each year. View all GGHS Outstanding Service Award winners here.

John Philip Sousa

1978 - Missy Toye, Steve Callaghan

1979 - Mike Avila

1980 - Shawn Waggoner

1981 - Mark Monroe

1982 - Mark Monroe

1983 - Gina Sandella

1984 - Margaret Kerns

1985 - Stacy Heining

1986 - Rebecca Ness

1987 - Kirk Clawson, Rebecca Ness

1988 -

2014 - Kevin Nguyen

2015 - Dominic Ovesen

2016 - Charlie Paredes

2017 - Kimberly Nguyen

2018 - Bryan Nguyen

2019 - Kevin Perez

2020 - Kevin Perez

2021 - Priscella Alfaro

2022 - Alex Martin/Jacob Goodger

2023 - Delyna Phan

National School Orchestra

1978 - Audrey Rodarte

1979 - Stacey Schmeidel

1980 - Stacey Schmeidel

1981 - Betsy Whedon

1982 - Ann Titzkowski

1983 - Keith Weed

1984 - Keith Weed

1985 - Jennifer Gotshall

1986 - Kirk Clawson

1987 - Jennifer Gotshall

1988 - Yolita Mejia

1989 - Youngshin Park

1990 - Youngshin Park

1991 - Esther Woo

1992 - Sunny Woo

1993 - Suzanna Woo

1994 - Florica Olariu

1995 - Marisa Gumpfer

1996 - Sashay Avila

1997 - Christina Rhee

1998 - Maria Purcar

1999 - Jamie Kong

2000 - Cornelia Pop

2001 - Timothy Johnson

2002 - Mandy Torry

2003 - Michael Johnson

2004 - Laura Magda

2005 - Joelle Ailes

2006 - Cynthia Amelang

2007 - Lisa Nguyen

2008 - Linh Do

2009 - Anysia Academia

2010 - Tina Nguyen

2011 - Arlene Ho

2012 - Lynn

2013 - Sarah Ho

2014 - Jazelle Geotina

2015 - Randy Vu

2016 - Steven Pham

2017 - Victoria Nguyen

2018 - John Nguyen

2019 - John Nguyen

2020 - Khang Nguyen/Kacie Le

2021 - Adelyn Duong

2022 - Trisha Ha

2023 - Amy Nguyen

Director’s Award

2014 - Emmeline Cosman

2015 - Alondra Murillo

2016 - Justin Peralta

2017 - Katherine Pham

2018 - Victoria Nguyen

2019 - Celine Nguyen

2020 - Jessica Ngo

2021 - Christopher Sterling

2022 - Mary Nguyen

2023 - Phat Pham, Johnson Cao

Louis Armstrong

2014 - Wilson Pham

2015 - Vivian Ngo