Music Prevails
May 7, 2021
“We kept the music going,” Lesley Fleer, director of the Kennedy band said.
The band concert began at 5 p.m. on May 4, in the Kennedy High School auditorium. With help from Justin Schaeffer, the concert was live-streamed on YouTube for family and friends who could not attend in person.
Because of the obstacles the Kennedy band faced, this was the only band concert of the 2020-2021 year. The band usually has a three-month marching season, consisting of a multitude of practices, competitions and performances, followed by a seven-month concert season of indoor rehearsals and concerts. Due to the inaccessibility of the school building and social distancing guidelines, the band was without in-person rehearsals for most of the year.
“We know that they put in extra time and extra effort and we appreciate that,” Fleer said. “This would have been at least their third performance as this group. What you see is the first time they perform in this group without a marching season, but yet they’re doing it which is pretty awesome.”
Once January hit, not all students came in person for band class. Some came during both cohort days, some only their assigned day, others not at all. Regardless, the music flowed.
“From rehearsal to rehearsal, we weren’t always sure who was gonna be there and who wasn’t,” Jared Wacker, director of the Wind Symphony Band, said. “So to put together these two pieces was quite a feat and I think that you’ll hear that they’re doing really really well considering.”
The trunk and trailer, used to haul band and choir equipment, were parked in the front of the school during the derecho last fall when a section of the auditorium roof landed on it.
“We’re in the process of raising money to replace both of those,” said Fleer. “If you are so inclined, we’d really appreciate it.”
For more information about the performing arts fundraiser, visit the donation page at this link.
“What this proves to us is that music does matter. It gets us all back together again. These kids have been our link to reality for the last four months and they will continue to be so,” Fleer said in a closing statement. “I hope that we have given you a little bit of the joy that they give to us through their music. We promise you this; we will continue to do this, we will continue to provide music because that’s what we do.”
