Watching musical talent grow
A standing room only crowd in the Wooster High School gym isn’t all that unusual during basketball season.
But with the season over, what could draw such a large crowd to the gym on March 31?
The annual Wooster City School District All-City Band Concert.
The gym was filled to capacity when the over 400 students in the district’s band program presented musical selections they have been preparing throughout the school year.
From fifth-grade students performing their very first concert, all the way through to the seniors taking their final bow, the concert showcased the talents of instrumental music students from all of the district’s six elementary schools, Edgewood Middle School and Wooster High School.
It’s the audience’s ability to see and hear the musical development students undergo during their seven years in the program over the course of the 90 minute concert that makes the All-City Band Concert so special.
“You can see the elementary students progress in front of your eyes to become 12th-graders and believe me it will happen to you before you know it. Especially those of you who have seniors out here know exactly what I’m talking about. It almost happens this fast,” Wooster High School band director Dan Adams told the crowd.
The concert also provides valuable learning experiences to the student musicians.
“What a great learning experience it is to perform and play your instrument but it’s also a great experience to be a student here and have the experience of listening to all the other groups play,” said Adams.
With construction ongoing at the Timken Gymnasium on the campus of The College of Wooster, which has hosted the event for over 25 years, the All-City Band Concert was held in the gym of Wooster High School. Though it made for rather tight quarters for performers and audience members alike, Adams saw it as fitting that the concert was held at the high school where the students will finish their musical careers in the district.
Included in the program were performances by two bands representing fifth and sixth-grade students from the elementary school band program along with the seventh-grade and eighth-grade bands from Edgewood Middle School and the Wooster High School Freshman Band, Concert Band and Symphonic Band.
The elementary band students performed under the direction of Diane Adams, Dennis Bartelheim, Doug Bennett and Tom Long. Long, Bartelheim and College of Wooster student teachers Ashley Bain and Lauren Patyak directed the Edgewood Middle School bands. The Wooster High School bands performed under the direction of Dan Adams and Bennett.
But with the season over, what could draw such a large crowd to the gym on March 31?
The annual Wooster City School District All-City Band Concert.
The gym was filled to capacity when the over 400 students in the district’s band program presented musical selections they have been preparing throughout the school year.
From fifth-grade students performing their very first concert, all the way through to the seniors taking their final bow, the concert showcased the talents of instrumental music students from all of the district’s six elementary schools, Edgewood Middle School and Wooster High School.
It’s the audience’s ability to see and hear the musical development students undergo during their seven years in the program over the course of the 90 minute concert that makes the All-City Band Concert so special.
“You can see the elementary students progress in front of your eyes to become 12th-graders and believe me it will happen to you before you know it. Especially those of you who have seniors out here know exactly what I’m talking about. It almost happens this fast,” Wooster High School band director Dan Adams told the crowd.
The concert also provides valuable learning experiences to the student musicians.
“What a great learning experience it is to perform and play your instrument but it’s also a great experience to be a student here and have the experience of listening to all the other groups play,” said Adams.
With construction ongoing at the Timken Gymnasium on the campus of The College of Wooster, which has hosted the event for over 25 years, the All-City Band Concert was held in the gym of Wooster High School. Though it made for rather tight quarters for performers and audience members alike, Adams saw it as fitting that the concert was held at the high school where the students will finish their musical careers in the district.
Included in the program were performances by two bands representing fifth and sixth-grade students from the elementary school band program along with the seventh-grade and eighth-grade bands from Edgewood Middle School and the Wooster High School Freshman Band, Concert Band and Symphonic Band.
The elementary band students performed under the direction of Diane Adams, Dennis Bartelheim, Doug Bennett and Tom Long. Long, Bartelheim and College of Wooster student teachers Ashley Bain and Lauren Patyak directed the Edgewood Middle School bands. The Wooster High School bands performed under the direction of Dan Adams and Bennett.
Published: April 3, 2011
