Photo courtesy of Knight Sauls.
The Crestline Elementary School band practices with Director James Rogers.
The sixth grade band program at Crestline Elementary School serves as an introduction to band for children who are finishing their time in elementary school. In order to provide the highest quality music education to the most students possible, the program returned to the individual elementary schools for the 2017-18 school year.
Crestline’s band enrollment increased from eight to 18 students. In the past, students interested in pursuing band were bussed to Mountain Brook Junior High for band class each day. In addition to recruiting more members, moving the bands back to the individual schools is giving each band a unique identity and sense of pride for their school.
Since the beginning of the year, the band students have been working on the basics of music notation and performance. No prior knowledge was required for the students to join the band. The students selected primarily from brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments.
The Crestline Band performs as a whole group and then breaks down into smaller groups, mainly duets, in order to show off the skills of students. The Crestline Band has had the opportunity to perform at a PTO Meeting and a school board meeting, giving them an authentic audience where they could debut what they have learned and accomplished since the beginning of the year.
‒ Submitted by Caroline Springfield.
