East Side Band-o-Rama- Valencia High School, Los Lunas, NM
Last night I attended the Valencia Band-o-Rama concert at Valencia High School. The concert featured performances by Tomé Elementary, Bosque Farms Elementary, Valencia Elementary, Peralta Elementary, Valencia Middle School, and Valencia High School. The point behind this particular concert is March is Music in Our Schools Month, and we celebrate this by putting on a free, community-wide concert to remind people of the value of learning music in school.
It was awesome to see the students perform, from our youngest musicians who are just in 6th grade and only beginning to learn, to our award-winning high school bands and jazz bands (also award winning!)! These kids all work hard to learn new skills and a new art form. I’ve mentioned it before, but I was a band kid. I’ve been in their shoes. It is scary to perform in front of such a large crowd, but they all did so with grace and charm.
One of the other things I noticed last night was the amazing community support that these kiddos have. The VHS gym- which is not a small gym- had 480 band students on the floor, and probably twice to three times as many people in the stands watching the performances! There were even people standing along the walls because the bleachers were packed! I love to see our community come together for these types of events, and to support our kiddos. And, as I’ve mentioned before, I ran into a multitude of friends, because in a small town, you can’t go anywhere without seeing someone you know!
If you are on the line about letting your student join band, I highly encourage you to let them do so, and to get involved in supporting the band. The skills the kids learn, and the opportunities they have are endless. The friends they will make will often be life-long relationships for them (Justin and I met IN band!). And the memories you and your kiddo(s) will make will be treasured for years to come. I know! My favorite memories from my school years all involve band!
Were you a band kid? Drop me a comment below and share your favorite band memory!