Fall Band, Strings and Chorus Update

By Mhi'a Empederado

Here in Great Mills High School, multiple programs and classes are provided for band, chorus, and strings. Many students have been interested in these classes because they love music and singing, as well as playing an instrument.

Band class is part of many different instruments coming together. One of the students in band class, Liam Klier, tenor saxophonist, said that the band is beneficial for him because he got to learn a new cool instrument and work on fun new pieces. Abeegail Douglas, clarinetist, said that they were also given the opportunity to be in multiple instrumental groups. Such as, All-County, Tri-County. Another opportunity that students are given is the Festival group and Marching Band. Struggles some of the students went through were trying to figure out the finger scales and how to tune their instruments. It helped when they were patient with themselves, kept practicing and working hard.

Chorus provides the students with the benefits of new ways of singing and expanding their knowledge. Kayla Barrick, in Treble Choir, replied to the survey and said that she was given many more opportunities to sing outside of class because she has grown through with new tactics of singing. Kaitlin Nueslien, who is part of Bella Musica, said that the mission of Bella Musica was to produce a good, clear, and balanced sounding female choir. She also said that music is able to unite people and can be an emotional thing. It was hard to keep memorizing and singing the songs but Mrs. Nelson was able to encourage and help the student persevere.

Strings or Orchestra students said in the survey that they learned how to multitask and how to read music as well as play and gain credits from others. Vivian Carey, a violist, in Strings Orchestra, said that strings were important to her because it helped her improve on her musical skills and gain more friends. Violist, Krisha Shah, benefitted from strings because she was able to multitask, as well as learning to advance efficiently while keeping up with other students. What helped these students from finger injuries and learning new techniques and music, was persevering and keep learning, which lead to their habit of efficiency.

In closing, many Great Mills High School Students are working hard and achieving their goals with their musical skills. There will be a Winter Concert on Saturday, December 13th. Band, chorus, and strings are at different times of the day so please make sure you communicate with the teachers and students for specifics. Bring friends and family! Thank you so much for reading!