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Students play the sounds of spring
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Neighbors | Alexis Bartolomucci.McKinley Elementary hosted their annual Spring Band Concert on May 10 for the fifth- and sixth-grade band students at Poland Seminary High School.
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Neighbors | Alexis Bartolomucci.Jeff Hvizdos, music teacher at McKinley Elementary, directed the sixth-grade students during their performances at the Spring Band Concert on May 10 at Poland Seminary High School.
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Neighbors | Alexis Bartolomucci.The fifth-grade students stood at the end of their performance to take a bow for their family and friends who attended the Spring Band Concert on May 10 at Poland Seminary High School.
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Neighbors | Alexis Bartolomucci.The fifth-grade students at McKinley Elementary put on a performance for their Spring Band Concert on May 10 at Poland Seminary High School.
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The sixth-grade band students took the stage after the fifth-grade band students finished playing their songs at the McKinley Spring Band Concert on May 10 at Poland Seminary High School.
By ALEXIS BARTOLOMUCCI
McKinley Elementary School put on their Spring Band Concert at Poland Seminary High School on May 10.
Before the fifth- and sixth-grade students performed, they stood up row by row for their parents to come up and takes pictures. The fifth- and sixth-grade band members put on two separate performances and each band performed five songs. The ending songs for both bands were music from “Star Wars.”
The fifth-grade band performed a piece called “Meet the Band,” which they played without a conductor. Thomas Brucoli, a music teacher at McKinley Elementary, taught the students the song.
“The amazing thing I think about these kids is the fact that you have 90 plus students out here without a conductor. That’s a credit to how hard they’ve worked and it’s also a credit to how brave Mr. Brucoli is. Spectacular job,” said music teacher Jeff Hvizos.
The students have been practicing for weeks to prepare for the concert. They practiced at school and at home so they would have a solid performance and have had support from their teachers, faculty and families.
Every year the students make a choice to participate in band or choir, but for the upcoming year students will have a third option. Fifth-graders going into sixth grade will have the choice to be part of both band and choir. They will spend a couple days a week at band and a couple at choir. The sixth-graders going into seventh grade will have band five days a week, but if they want to join choir, they will be able to participate one day a week.