Band is not just about learning to play an instrument. We teach the whole student.

We teach kids to engage in calm, intense focus.

We teach kids to be ok with critical feedback and to crave growth.

We teach kids to work together in a group that has dozens of different ideas, all of which are valid.

We teach kids to aspire to a perfect goal, and to continue progress even when it sounds "good."

We teach kids to recover from mistakes, and to persevere even when something seems out of reach.

We teach kids to rely on and look out for one another.

We teach kids long-term commitment.

We teach kids to be organized and to pay attention to details.

We teach kids that, in spite of all of the bad in the world, there is a safe, positive place for them.

We teach all of this and more, in a classroom of 25-50 pre-teens, all of whom have noisemakers in their hands. And we love it!