The Sound of Music

Last night I attended Kaysie's final band concert of the year.  All three bands from her school played and then played a song together.  The sixth graders (Kaysie's group) played first.  They are the largest of the three groups and I thought they did a great job.  Their music was well chosen and seemed to be fun for them.  They were in turn followed by the seventh and eighth grade groups.  Each grade level had their own distinctive sound.  While the sixth graders might not have had as much experience they made up for that in enthusiasm.  Sitting there at that concert took me back to my school years playing in the band.  How proud I was at each concert.  Remembering our beloved band director Mr. Bame - a true gentleman, and beloved instructor.  Right up until our high school years.  He followed us all the way through until 12th grade, and then he retired.  We were very lucky.
Kaysie is lucky too.  Her band director, Mrs. Dugger is a gem.  She LOVES her job, and it shows in how well the students were prepared.  They all looked great in their band t-shirts and black pants.  They all handled their instruments with respect and treated her with the same.  The percussion section was given the gift of a special volunteer, Mr. Burleson, who is a percussionist himself and had a lot of fun this year helping the drum-line as well as the percussionists.  The title of the concert was "Celebrations" and indeed it was.
Shortly before the concert wound up, Mrs. Dugger and Mr. Burleson handed out awards to some of the students.  My daughter Kaysie and two of her friends were recipients of a Distinguished Musician Award for 6th grade.  It was a surprise for both of us, and I couldn't be prouder.  Next weekend Kaysie and her friend Tessa (one of the other award recipients) will attend a week long music camp.  I'm thinking that after this year, which ended on a high note (no pun intended), they will be proud ambassadors of their school's music program.
Congratulations to all of the musicians who played in last night's concert.  You all should be very proud of all the hard work and time you devoted to learning and perfecting your instruments and your musical education.  You will one day be sitting in the bleachers as a proud parent and remembering your days playing in band concerts, and I hope you will be as proud of your children as your parents are of you!  Great Job!