The first annual elementary band festival went off with a blast on Monday, Nov 9 in the Stillwater Area High School gym.

“I am excited to perform, and I hope all the kids are excited too,” senior Claire Weber said.

Stillwater Wind Symphony students began setting up the event at 2:30. The sixth graders arrived at 5:30 to eat pizza before they rehearsed, an at 6:00, the fifth graders ate together.

“It was fun,” fifth-grader Hannah Bliss said.

All the elementary school bands performed followed by Stillwater Wind Symphony, to show students where their musical career could bring them.

“I wish they had this when I was younger. When I was in sixth grade I saw a Wind Symphony concert. It was a big influence on my decisions for band.” Weber said.

The Black band, a jazz band from Stillwater Junior High, played music while parents and siblings flooded into the gym. When the concert started, the fifth-grade bands played The First Performance, a series of short songs typically played by beginners.

“I thought it was kinda cool because it was my first performance, and it’s fun to play.” Bliss said.

After the fifth-grade bands had finished, the sixth grade band played Time Traveler and Consensus. To finish it off, Wind Symphony played Inferno and Ascension from Dante’s Divine Comedy, and A+.

“The high school performance was cool because percussion played different instruments and there were solos.” Bliss said.

The band directors at the performance consisted of Joel Bryan, Megan Holroyd, Dennis Lindsay, Mara Syman, Robin Vought and Michael Walk. Dennis Lindsay conducted Wind Symphony, Michael Walk conducted the sixth-grade band, and Joel Bryan, Mara Syman and Robin Vought conducted the fifth-grade bands.

“I thought it was interesting because the fifth graders had never played a concert and they all came in together to perform.” sophomore Greta Bliss said. “It went a lot better than I expected.”

When Wind Symphony began their performance of Inferno, many of the elementary student leaned towards the sound of the oboe.

“I thought the chains were really cool.” Hannah Bliss said.

At the end of Wind Symphony’s performance, all the bands played Hot Cross Buns together.

“I think it is a valuable experience to show the younger musicians how they can progress throughout the years.” senior Benjamin Alcorn said.

“I am excited for later. Some of my friends and I were talking about how cool it would be to play new instruments.” Hannah Bliss said.

At the end of the performance, all the elementary students, band directors and Wind Symphony stood up and gave a bow. The bands were dismissed by grade and section. Parents slowly left the gym as students began the clean up.

“Hannah has been watching my concerts for years, so I think it’s a good thing I can be here to support her.” Greta Bliss said.

The successful performance paints a bright page for the future of Stillwater’s bands, and shows the fun that the festival creates. The first annual elementary band festival has shown the promise of many exciting years to come.