The Jacksonville Country Day School band held its Winter Showcase on Dec. 14.
The Winter Showcase is a culminating event of the semester that allows band students to demonstrate some of the techniques they have learned, enabling them to develop their ability to both read and perform music from the most basic level to a more advanced degree.
The band is composed of musicians in grades 3-6 learning brass, woodwind and percussion instruments. For many of these students, it is their first exposure to ensemble performing.
Band is an enrichment activity at the school and is led by Chrystal Staples, who shares her own talents and passion for music.
“It’s quite amazing how much these young musicians can absorb and play with great success and zeal,” said Staples.
The showcase moved through a variety of performance groups, highlighting the concepts used to grow in proficiency. The beginning band started with a short and simple unison of melodies followed by more lengthy and complex holiday tunes such as “Jolly Old St. Nicholas” and “Up on the Housetop.”
The advanced band demonstrated their widened note range and rhythmic abilities, as well as their grasp of varying styles in pieces such as “Too Much Homework Blues,” “Jingle Bell Rock” and “The Angels Mix.”
“I was so excited for the showcase, because this is the first time in a long time we have had a live audience; a video just doesn’t feel as real,” said fifth-grader Lynn Ibrahim of Ponte Vedra.
Lynn plays the saxophone and has been practicing with the Jacksonville Country Day School band for three years.
“I had never played an instrument before I joined the band, but it has given me confidence and I found something I love doing,” she said.
Lynn has two younger siblings also at the school. She said her little brother, a second-grader, will take part in the enrichment activity next year, following in her footsteps, but he will be playing the flute.
