The Crookston Middle School Music Department will present a Spring Concert on Monday, May 20, at 7:00 p.m. in the CHS Auditorium.
The concert will feature the grand bands from grades 5-8 and choirs and orchestras from grades 6-8. This middle school students have two chances each year to perform a concert as a group; the first one this school year is in the fall. “Throughout the year, the band will perform,” said Crookston Middle School Orchestra Director Haley Ellis, “I have my sixth graders play in March, so there are smaller performances throughout the year, but for the middle school, the Fall and Spring concerts are their big performances of the year.”
Although the Spring Concert is considered a “combined concert,” the bands, orchestras, and choirs will not perform at the same time. Each music discipline will have slots and performances to display the hard work and practice throughout the school year. For example, the Crookston Middle School Choir will perform folk and alternative music. “I have the Middle School Choir, and we will be performing a Japanese Folk song,” said Music Instructor Adrianne Winger, “We’re also going to sing songs about flying and about clouds since it’s spring, which will be nice relaxing music. We will also be singing some Beatles music and end with Jar of Hearts, which is more contemporary.”
The fifth-grade band from Highland Elementary will be joining the Middle School Band (6-8), which will also feature a wide variety of music. Crookston High School Matt Torgerson will lead their performance.
Each grade level has been practicing for the Spring Concert for quite some time, and some will perform music they have never played in front of a live audience. “My middle school students in the choir started with a couple of selections after the (Christmas) holiday break,” said Winger, “January, we began with a couple, then February, we added some more, March a few more, etc. Then we cut out a lot of songs to figure out who we are and what we want to perform.”
The doors for the concert will open at 6:30 p.m., and it is free for all to attend and stay for the entire concert. Haley Ellis commented that the students have worked tirelessly to perform these pieces well and that Monday night should bring plenty of great music and entertainment. “I know sometimes, if your kid’s in the concert, people will stay for one part and try and take off,” said Ellis, “I really encourage you to stick around and see what the other ensembles are doing so the kids can be supported. These kids have worked hard, and they deserve to have an audience.”
