With each different instrument playing to create a harmonious unified sound, the CKMS band rehearses and practices consistently to improve their skills with their instruments. Showing their community their dedication and progress, they held a winter concert, playing winter time favorites.
“We’ve been having rehearsals in class, practicing at home, and we had rehearsals on stage,” CKMS sixth grader Regan Taylor said.
The band has three different mixed band classes with Band One, 2nd period Band ⅔, and 6th period Band ⅔. At the concert, Band One played “Jingle Bells” by Michael Sweeny, “Up On the Housetop” by Michael Sweeny, and “Holiday Sampler” by John O’Reilly and Mark Williams. 2nd period Band ⅔ played “Olde English Christmas” by John O’Reilly and “Bell Carol Rock” by Mykola D. Leontovych and Ryan Fraley, while the 6th period Band ⅔ played “Celtic Carol” by Robert W Smith and “A Charlie Brown Christmas” by Vince Guaraldi and Carl Strommen.
“I think we did really good,” Taylor said. “That was one of our best performances.”
This was the middle school’s first concert of the year. The melodies played by the sixth graders flowed harmoniously with the seventh and eighth grader’s sonnets, showing the improvements all the band students have made since the beginning of their band experiences.
“I have improved a lot,” CKMS eighth grader Olivia Carney said. “When I started [playing] tenor [saxophone] in the middle of my seventh grade year, I was barely able to get one note out, and now I’m playing a lot more.”
Eighth graders celebrated this winter concert as one of their last middle school band concerts. They have been preparing to enter high school inside and outside of class, being trained by the middle school band director, Stuart Logan.
“I do plan on continuing to play in band in high school,” CKMS eighth grader Arya Pochop said. “I’m going to prepare for that by talking to the people I know who are already in the high school band and see how they like it.”
Logan prepares all of his students for high school and beyond starting from sixth grade all the way to eighth, including training during class, rehearsals, and concerts. He does this by making sure his students build a solid foundation and know the basics of their instruments so they can handle harder concepts with music in the future.
“I’m gonna continue playing the trombone in high school because it’s a lot of fun,” Taylor said. “There’s a lot more I can learn about teamwork as well.”
In the band class, students learn more than just music and playing an instrument. They learn the concepts of being a team player by playing their part the best they can to improve the whole band’s sound. This gives students skills they will use in other aspects of their life, which makes band class extremely beneficial.
“In band, if somebody doesn’t learn their lines or learn their parts, it messes up the whole band.” Logan said. “It’s all about teamwork,”
On stage, performing for a crowd with hundreds of people for the first time, it leads students to panic and freeze up. To avoid this, Logan teaches the band students how to perform professionally and control your nervousness with preparation. This leads students in the right direction for succeeding in their lives, especially when it comes to public speaking and basic social skills.
“In the future, my students aren’t going to need to know how to play a B natural or an F sharp [note], because they’re going to be lawyers, doctors, senators, or even burger flippers,” Logan said. “What they need to know is leadership, discipline, responsibility, and how to be a good team member.”
