Roadrunners play their hearts out

HMS band takes 1st at Atlanta competition, invited to Carnegie Hall

Hurst Middle School band and choir brought home the gold last month.

The 112-student group traveled to Atlanta for the Heritage Music Festival and both came home with a pile of awards. But the 66-person band brought home the largest prize: Best Overall Outstanding Band and an invitation to play at Carnegie Hall next spring.

If the band gets approval from the School Board and can raise enough money, next year’s HMS band will be headed to New York.

Heather Dahl, HMS band director, said that the trip to Atlanta required a lot of behind-the-scenes work but it was worth it to reward the students for such hard work. The band also won gold for on-stage performance. The choir and band worked together to win the Spirit of Atlanta Award, given to the school that represents their community the best in character at the competition. Carl Harrod directed the HMS choir.

“This trip was a reward for all their hard work,” Dahl said. “It’s really important that they’re performing and getting feedback, and the underlying part is that it helps these kids have real experiences where they have to make good choices.”

The trip to the festival in Atlanta cost about $500 per student. Dahl said that all of the money for the optional trip was raised through fundraising or by out-of-pocket payments from parents and chaperones – none of the money used was district money. And she said that funding would be the same for a trip to Carnegie Hall.

“With the economy, money is a factor,” she said. “For this trip, for all the things we did, it was a great deal.”

Dahl said that fundraising and planning is all worth it because students work hard to be able to attend.

“If they’re not making the grades, they don’t go…grades come first,” Dahl said. “For some kids, that changes their grades because they really want to go on the trip.”

Saxophone player Megan Schexnaydre said that the competition was nerve-racking.

“Everyone was nervous, but once we got in there we put on our game faces,” Schexnaydre, an 8th grade student, said. “We practiced so much and when we competed it showed.”

Band members practiced the three songs for the competition tirelessly. They played the pieces during their band class at school, in after school classes and at home until they were perfected. Schexnaydre said that band members also used an online Web site to play along with a recording of the music.

Hannah McDuffie, an 8th grade flute player, was one of only five students in the entire Atlanta competition to receive an individual soloist award. Choir member Samdrael McKey also won one of the five individual soloist awards at the competition.

McDuffie said that practicing for the competition was work, but it was worth it because the trip was fun and educational.

“We learned techniques that other bands and professionals use, like breathing and articulation,” McDuffie said. The competition included an on-stage clinic and constructive feedback from professionals.

Tuba and clarinetist J.T. Brown wants to be a band director one day and said that going to the competition in Atlanta was an invaluable experience because the judges were the best in town.

Brown is excited to be moving on to high school next year. He’s a little disappointed that he will not be able to go to Carnegie Hall next year, but he’s proud to have earned the trip.

Eighth grader Joey Robichaux said he is also a little disappointed he won’t be able to see Carnegie Hall, but that earning the trip was amazing.

“It was a long bus ride there, but we went bowling and a pizza party the first night, we went to a Shrek musical..and Six Flags,” Robichaux, a clarinet and saxophone player, said.

Dahl said that the students got to see a “first-hand, up-close vision into live music” by checking out the orchestra pit at the Shrek Musical. Band and choir members also go to visit the Aquarium of the Americas, World of Coca Cola and had lunch at the CNN building.

All band members agree that the music skills they have learned help in many other areas of their lives.

Robichaux said that band has helped him with his hand-eye coordination for playing sports. He also said that reading music is a good skill to have.

Schexnaydre said that knowing how to count music and subdivide has helped her to stay on time while taking tests and has helped with her math and science reasoning.

McDuffie said that her experience with band has helped her to respect others and the efforts they put into things.

Brown said that playing an instrument means that the always has something to do and a goal to work towards.

Dahl said that she is glad all of her students get so much from playing music because they are helping her to accomplish her life goals, too.

“As a band director, one of my personal goals was to one day have a group that was invited to perform at such a prestigious place, like Carnegie Hall,” she said.

The HMS band performs about 25 times a year at football games, competitions and concerts.

“It’s a huge undertaking – we perform a lot,” Dahl said. “But what’s the point of being a musician if you can’t entertain?”