At last, the year has ended…

As the school year is coming to a close, the band program begins concluding as well. At the end of each year, after all of the Music Performance Assessments and other concerts and performances, the last concert of the year allows all of the bands to perform one last time. This performance isn’t merely a tradition, but also a way for the band directors, students, and parents to reflect over how much the students have grown from the beginning all the way to the end.

Jazz Band

Jazz band was the first group to performt, opening the first part of the concert. Just a few weeks ago, they played at Hagerty High School for the annual event, Jazz Under the Stars, and they took the songs they had learned from there to perform at the final concert. They played three pieces: Crescent River Ramble, Trouble With Trombones, and The Incredibles.

“Concerts can be scary, but it’s really fun to play with my fellow peers,” Elizabeth Henry (7) said.

Beginning Band

Beginning Band started with so little experience at the start of the year. Each student in the band had never picked up their instrument before, some hadn’t even heard of their instrument prior to the beginning of the year. So, throughout the year, they learned the basics as they began their musical journey. Everything led up to the final concert, and the improvement was evident to everyone, from their first concert to the last.

Madison Rogers (7) plays clarinet in Beginning Band, and reflected over the changes in her band. “I feel like we’ve improved so much,” she said.

The band performed three pieces: Scottish March, Rock With Bach, and the ever-famous, Creepy Crawlies.

Advanced Band

Advanced Band performed first in the second half of the concert, bridging the gap between Beginning and Jazz. The group, made up of mostly seventh and eighth graders, played the pieces Camel Caravan, Little Brazil Suite, and Surge.

Concert Band

Concert Band performed three pieces, Music for the Queen’s Court, Lux Prima, and Squirrel Chase. The songs that they played at their Music Performance Assessment, where they earned Superiors, were Lux Prima and Music for the Queen’s Court.

Symphonic Band

Symphonic Band performed last out of all of the bands. The band, after only performing at their Music Performance Assessment a month ago, played two of their MPA songs, and two new ones they learned in the time between the two performances. They played Rails West, Amaranthus, Ancient Airs of Ireland, and Caribana Afterparty.

“My favorite part of the concert was just playing the music,” Elina Garcia (8) said. “We played really good music.”