A Musical Adventure

Alexander volunteered me to attend his band field trip.

Our first stop, the elementary school adjacent to the middle school

Alexander playing the baritone

Fifth grade students listening to Mr. Louden

Preparing to play at the retirement community

Alexander and his captive audience
The boys and girls had to load and unload the bus, from the rear, in BRRR cold weather. It was quite a project--25 music stands and just as many instruments.
Our final trip was to an elementary school on the South side of Westerville

Alexander volunteered me to attend his band field trip before asking...thankfully I was able to rearrange my schedule and attend. Mr. Louden is the band director for the 6th, 7th and 8th grade bands. The 7th and 8th graders alone total 150 students. Mr. Louden decided to take a select few 7th and 8th graders on a field trip to help spread holiday cheer throughout our community. The students were asked to audition for the field trip and Mr. Louden chose 12 7th graders and 13 8th graders to attend the field trip. Alexander was honored to be one of the 25 selected.

Our "musical adventure" began with a walk to the elementary school adjacent to the middle school. The band performed musical ensembles and solos for the attentive 5th grade students. Following the performance, the students asked intelligent questions and seem genuinely interested in participating in band next year.

Following their performance at the elementary school, we boarded a school bus and headed to a nearby retirement community. The residents were so appreciative of the band's performance. I was in the back watching the residents tapping their feet, clapping and singing Christmas carols as the band played familiar tunes. Prior to the last arrangement, Mr. Louden asked the band members to mingle with the residents. The smiles on the resident's faces said it all--they loved having the kids perform for them.

After the two performances, Mr. Louden bravely allowed the boys and girls an hour, free reign, at the local mall. They were instructed to purchase lunch at the Food Court and then they were free to 'wander' the mall. I was concerned about this aspect of the trip, but the kids were very prompt and arrived at 1pm sharp as instructed. Two girls were cracking me up. In addition to a quick lunch, they visited as many stores as possible collecting bags--suffice to say they collected a lot!

The "Musical Adventure" concluded with a trip to another elementary school. The boys and girls were VERY enthusiastic about the performance. They clapped, hollered and hooted and sang EVERY song from their toes. Their enthusiasm was contagious and the band enjoyed performing for them.

I wasn't sure what an all day band field trip would entail, but I'm SO happy that I was the sole chaperone. The boys and girls were friendly, polite and I couldn't be more proud of the performances and solos. I had an amazing day! They did a fabulous job spreading Christmas cheer!!