At the beginning of this school year, I had a first year band student tell me she was very “nervocited” for her first year of band. I thought that this was a great description of the exhilaration that comes with trying something new. She felt very relieved when I told her that I was extremely “nervocited” to start teaching at Veazie Community School.
From day one, my time at VCS has been phenomenal. I joined a community of professionals that always put the needs of their students first. Whenever I have asked for help, I have found 20 volunteers eager to assist. I am also overwhelmed with the motivation of the students and their eagerness to learn.
On May 30th, we have our final concert of the 2018-2019 school year, and once again I am “nervocited”, but far more excited than anything else. I guess the nervous part comes from the aspects that one cannot control. Will the sound system work as intended? Will he remember his instrument? Is 40 extra copies of that part enough if every student loses their music right before the concert? But as every self-help book will tell you, worrying about things outside of one’s control will never make them better. The best that one can do is to be prepared and then let life happen. Preparation is exactly what happens in every music class.
I believe that what happens in the classroom is equally as important, if not more important, than what happens in the performance. Whether it is PreK music class or Middle School Band class, the students are learning much more than what notes happen and when they happen. They are learning how necessary it is to work together in order to create something beautiful. They are learning personal responsibility in the context of a greater whole. They are learning how to directly communicate emotions with a listener. These concepts are learned over time and do not just magically happen in one brief performance.
Our students have been working so hard in their learning this year and our spring concert is a public display of the progress they have made this year. The concert will begin with our Middle School Chorus students taking us on a tour of popular songs from the past 50 years. Our Prek-5th grade students will then be singing on the theme of friendship. Following this, our 4th and 5th grade students will demonstrate a drumming circle activity that they do in class. The band portion of our concert will follow. 4th and 5th Grade Band students will start this set with a classic rock song and finish with a rock song from 2018. Middle School Band students will then take over with a trio of award-winning hit songs from the 70’s, 80’s, and 2017. The concert will conclude with two back-to-back combined 4-8 Band pieces. We will explore the classical realm with a popular film theme and finish with the worldwide No. 1 song of 2018.
Notice, I have not revealed any musical titles. You will have to attend the concert to find out!
I hope to see you at Veazie Community School, 1040 School Street, Veazie at 6PM on Thursday, May 30th to celebrate our students musical accomplishments!
