Monday evening (May 8) the Middle School Band members Grades 5-Grade 8 were more than ready to show their audience their musical talent! The MMCRU band is under the direction of Ms. Emma Davis.
The Fifth Graders took to their places first with “Banana Boat Song” that was a Jamaican Folk Song with flutes and percussion sections busy. “The Good Life” had a Solo w/Accompaniment of four students. They concluded their part of the program with “First Things First”. These 5th graders began their musical career in October of last year and are doing well!
Fifth Grade Band Members are: (Flute) Eibhlin Hogg, Sophie Juhl, and Courtney Medard. (Clarinet) Katie Easton, Oneira Johnson, Cooper McKinney and Mikayla Shay. (Saxophone) Treton Huff, Clayton Jansen and Conner Nothem. (Trumpet) Tyson Carver, Ryan Dreckman, Brynlee Oswald, Logan Staab, and Derek Tentinger. (Trombone) Amy Ahlers, Ha7den Olson, Tori Poeckes, Isaac Schneider and Luke Staab. (Percussion) Preston Busch, Hayden Flewelling, Brody Meyer and Aaliyah Porter.
The Sixth Grade Band took to the chairs with “Nighthawk” having a drum beating continuous followed by “Zip Drive”. This song had a drum beat with horns responding. “Lazy Summer” was a slow moving song with a Solo on Cello by Carter Cave. They concluded with “Half-Past Two”. This song also had a drum beating with flutes and clarinets answering the call. This grade did well!
Sixth Grade Band Members are: (Flute Jayda Decker, Katie Haaven, Chloe Martinez, and Kaydence Stites. (Clarinet) Ava Frederick, Samantha Peterson and Faith Spenner. (Saxophone) Amaya Gengler, Nathan Herrera, Charlie Murray and Ethan Steffen. (Trumpet) Gavin Alesch, Rebekah Casson, Ashley Mouser, Bentley Reed and Emmett Rupp. (Trombone) Garrett Alesch, Jagger Becker, Owen Erickson and Trenton Hageman. (Cello) player was Carter Cave. (Percussion0 TJ Hermanson, Colton Heubrock and Lilly Olson.
Seven/Eight Grades were combined and began with “Softly Speaks the Night”. Up to this time, we had heard louder sounding music but with “Softly Speaks the Night”, we heard music not near as loud. They continued with “Zydeco Cajun Crawdad Dance”. (Have you ever seen these red in color crawdads? Their song informed the audience of a dance they did!) They concluded their part of the program with “Afterburn”.
Seven/Eight Grade Band Members are: (Flute) Chloe Alesch, Tapika Nothem, Hayden Oswald, Ava Prescott, Addy Ruskamp, Erica Specht and Tori Treinen. (Clarinet) Ja’shyia Caviness, Aubrey Dirks, Rachel Doellinger, Ella Draper, Annika Juhl, Brea Nicks, Morgan Rupp and Ashley Wetter. (Saxophone) Aleah Lux and Gracie Schroeder. (Trumpet) Isaac Astidias, Jasper Lahouti, Brielle Lux, Elli Molzen, Jesse Schneider and Aiden Shea. (Trombone) Charles Easton and Owen Lennon. (Baritone) player was Rylee Smith. (Tuba) player was Nolan Carver. (Percussion) Behr Carey, Ayden Miller, Christopher Rojas, Cody Schmillen, Mick Schnepf and Peter Stevick.
Then the 5th through 8th Grade Bands were Combined and had a very interesting conclusion to the evening. They played “Batter Up!” Ms. Davis had a batter’s cap on as she directed the band. This final song featured some well known baseball players brought back from the past. Jake Davis was the Announcer. You would probably remember them—Mr. Weller as Rusty Reed. Mrs. Weber as Buzzin’ Bach. Mr. Rinchart as Sweet-tone Horn-man. Ms. Wurth as Babe Ruthless. Each of the ball players swung a bat and took off running for bases marked on the floor with paper.
I cannot conclude this article without commending on the covers of the programs. When we arrived at the gym, there were three different programs to pick from. I wish I could show you the art work done on these programs! They all featured using musical instruments and music signs. Congratulations to Brynlee Oswald, Lilly Olson, and Hayden Oswald for having their artwork selected. Well done to all of the students who submitted artwork to be featured on the cover of our program. Thank you to the Remsen Middle School and Remsen Elementary School staff who made the very difficult decision of choosing the cover art!
Upcoming Events: May 21 is Commencement @ 2 p.m. in Marcus. May 29 is Memorial Day Performance in Remsen. June 3 is Band Blast-Off day. June 5-16 is Summer Band Lessons. August 14-18 is High School Band camp 8:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. with Summer Band Lessons in the afternoon.