CONCERT BANDS

The Desert Ridge Band program has enjoyed much success since the school opened in 1997. Desert Ridge currently offers three levels of concert band: Beginning, Advanced, and Symphonic.

Beginning Band is offered to all students interested in playing a wind or percussion instrument (flute, oboe, bassoon, clarinet, saxophone, trumpet, trombone, euphonium, tuba, and percussion). No previous music experience is required to participate.

Cadet Band is offered to incoming 6th grade students who have played a band instrument for one or more years. Advanced Band and Symphonic Band are offered to 7th and 8th grade students who have completed one year of Beginning or Cadet Band. Placement is determined by the directors.

Band students perform several concerts and festivals throughout the school year. In addition, students learn discipline, cooperation with others, and most importantly, music skills that will last a lifetime! Learning to play a musical instrument involves your child in a worthwhile school activity and gives them something interesting and pleasurable to do during their leisure time for the remainder of their lives.

Each year, all of our students create a Choose Your Own Musical Adventure Project for Band where they can choose from a variety of musical options such as : composing music, building an instrument, creating a music video, performing a house concert and more.. Check out our student work for our most recent CYOMA Project.

JAZZ BANDS

Desert Ridge also offers two levels of Jazz Band for students who are enrolled in a band or orchestra class during the regular school day who play a traditional jazz instrument (saxophone, trumpet, trombone, piano, bass, drums, guitar). Some of our bass, piano and guitar players have been students that play another instrument in one of our concert bands or orchestras.

Jazz Band I is an advanced jazz ensemble. Placement is determined by an audition in the Fall. Audition music will be provided the first week of school in the fall. Jazz Band II is an intermediate ensemble open to any band or orchestra student without an audition; however, rhythm section instrumentation (drums, piano, bass, guitar) will be limited to a certain number of students. If there is an over abundance of these instruments, a small audition may be necessary.

Jazz Band is a class that meets before school daily. Both jazz bands perform at many concerts and festivals throughout the school year.

Aaron Lovato

An Albuquerque native music educator and performer, Mr. Lovato received a Bachelor of Music Education from the University of New Mexico and a Master of Music in Jazz Studies from the University of North Texas. Previously, he taught with the APS Fine Arts Department as an elementary general music instructor for eight years, and as the assistant band director at Desert Ridge and Eisenhower Middle schools for five years before working as the head band director at Desert Ridge in 2021.

As a performer, he plays saxophone in several professional ensembles in the Albuquerque area including the Albuquerque Jazz Orchestra and the New Mexico Philharmonic. Mr. Lovato has served as a clinician as well has directed a Honor Jazz Band for the NMMEA All-State Conference.

When Mr. Lovato isn't teaching, playing, or listening to awesome music, you might find him biking, fishing or and traveling around the southwest with his wife and two dogs.

Grace Sweet

Ms. Sweet came to Desert Ridge in 2021 from Massachusetts, where she taught band, orchestra, general music, and chorus. Most recently, she served as Instrumental Music Director at Easton Middle School, teaching band, orchestra, and the school's three award-winning jazz ensembles.

Ms. Sweet studied Music Education and French Horn Performance at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. There, she played in large ensembles including the university's Symphony Orchestra, Wind Ensemble, and Jazz Ensemble I and toured with the Mount Holyoke College Symphony Orchestra to Chicago and Washington D.C.

Band is one of Ms. Sweet's favorite things in the world, but when she's not in the classroom, you might find her hiking, gardening, or petting someone else's dogs.