In Music, sometimes we improvise

MT PLEASANT — Ominous clouds and the threat of storms moved the Fifth and Sixth grade Mt. Pleasant bands inside the middle school for their spring concert Tuesday.

Middle School Band Director Adam Creager addressed students and families with anticipation for the current sixth-graders to join the ranks of middle school band next school year.

“Help me, the sixth-graders are moving up,” Creager said. “And help them all too.”

Just as this school year comes to an end, the sixth-graders dip their toes into the middle school band experience with summer lessons.

Parents can look for summer lesson schedules in the mail and in their emails.

The fifth grade students made sure that the already warm gym was fully warmed-up for the sixth grade performance.

While there were some missed notes in this warm up, the students seemed to enjoy themselves, and faces full of pride watched as they created music.

Fifth and sixth grade band director Laura Westfall pointed out that this sixth grade band was not like any other sixth grade band she had the pleasure of teaching.

“It’s been a fun two years,” she said. “You guys are really resilient. Do you remember the first time we met and you were testing instruments behind Plexiglas six feet away?”

“A year ago this concert was the first time that all of you finally played together,” Westfall said.

The sixth grade band captivated listeners with beautiful songs like the fantastical “Night Fury,” by Carol Brittin Chambers and Adrian B. Sims’ “A Builder’s Dream.”

“We’re not to start loud, right?” Westfall said to the band before beginning their next song. “Soft.”

An instantly recognizable crowd favorite was well received.

Panic at the Disco’s “High Hopes” got the crowd bopping, and some of the lyrics could even be heard coming from the audience ever so quietly.

Surprisingly, the students were not the biggest fans of “High Hopes,” because they felt that it was too repetitive.

Many students preferred the more complex “A Builder’s Dream.”

These sixth-graders overcame difficult circumstances to begin their band careers but appeared to thrive in the challenges.

Zui Zui by Yo Goto provided new and interesting sounds which not only challenged the students, but kept the listener waiting to see what would happen next in the complex layers and volume varieties.

Such a complex song only seems fitting for the sixth grade class that had to overcome exceptional obstacles.

Comments: AnnaMarie.Ward@southeastiowaunion.com