The Big Sandy Mountaineer -

Spring has arrived in Big Sandy. The air is filled with the last snowfall before the weather warms up (hopefully) and the sound of music at the Big Sandy Schools. The Elementary and High School band and choir are gearing up for their spring concerts, recitals, and competitions. Community members looking to warm their hearts against the chill outside could choose no better way than supporting this year's student performances. The events will include a recital on April 9th, encore concerts on April 21st and 23rd, and the elementary school spring concert on April 25th. In addition, the program will be acquiring new kettle bell drums and choir risers thanks to generous grants and gifts. The Music Festivals will be taking place on the 19th and 20th.

TJ Bond, the music teacher for Big Sandy Schools, explained the full calendar of events to look forward to in the coming weeks, starting with the recitals and Music Festivals. The festivals are the area music competitions, which determine which programs qualify for the state competitions.

"We've got the recital. That'll be coming up here in a few weeks. It's a recital of all the events going on that are solos and ensembles that we'll be performing in this year's Music Festival." He went on to explain the decision to divide this year's recitals into a separate event from the band and choir concert. "There's so many events that it makes more sense for us to do this as a split from the full band and choir. It would be too long of a concert otherwise. The upcoming recital is just small groups. Then we'll have our encore concert for the high school right after festival, which will feature the band and choir plus any events going on to state competition."

Mr. Bond explained that the upcoming shows will highlight the growth in the program and hopefully provide some entertainment for parents and community members coming to support their students. "We've got a good mix of young and old playing at the recital, which I think that says a lot for how much the music program has been growing. We have the band music and the choir music where the kids are already doing extremely well. I think it'll be a really fun, intensive concert on that. And the elementary concert has a few surprises because of its theme, but I'm not spoiling anything. But there'll be a big theme to the whole concert that I think everyone will enjoy."

In addition to the growth of the program in terms of the students, the music program recently purchased new drums. "They are timpani drums, which are a staple of concert band music. There's another name for them, which is kettle drums." The program had a set of kettle drums that are quite old and no longer work properly. They no longer meet the quality level required for a High School music program. TJ remarked that several parents had told him that the drums were quite old and in poor condition when they were in band as High School students, indicating that the replacement is very long overdue. "I can get one or two notes to stick but they can't maintain their note and they are constantly in disrepair." The old set will be moved to the Elementary School providing opportunity for younger percussionists to begin to gain experience with the large drums. TJ explained that the upgraded drums will feature far more longevity, potentially lasting as long as a century if well maintained. The drums were purchased

with a generous donation from the Masonic Lodge.

In addition to the drums, the program will be receiving new choir risers, which is a much larger purchase and will be paid for with money from the Mahood Trust donation. The new choir risers are replacing the old ones, which are also in a similar state but not quite as bad. We'll be getting them probably before the end of the year, but not before the concert. They will be easy to move around. These risers are much easier to manage and a lot easier to fix if something goes wrong."

TJ was overwhelmingly positive about the program and the direction in which it is going. The Big Sandy program has scored extraordinarily well in the last few competitions distinguishing itself, particularly in light of the small size of our school. The addition of a jazz class and growing interest in the music program points in the direction of good things for the music program this year and in the years to come.