Most band students love to use this phrase to refer to all the amazing things, and sometimes pure hilarious antics, that occur in band—especially when referring to band camp and the band bus; however, after overcoming the turmoil over the past year with the pandemic, the Enterprise band is ready to break this small statement so that the community can know a little of the amazing things that have happened with the band.
The group recently went to competition at Pearl High School for the State Concert Adjudication Festival. Although they didn’t get the scores they hoped for, the group still did an amazing job.
Since the pandemic started, the group has faced and overcome multiple challenges. The band was transitioning over to a new band director, but with all the uncertainty of the pandemic, it was hard for everyone to meet.
“I couldn’t really work with anybody due to Covid restrictions until the first day of band camp,” stated Steve Stringer, Enterprise band director. “I had met some students here and there, but I was never able to see everyone as a group until band camp.”
Meeting the new band director wasn’t the only challenge. Since students never returned from Spring Break in 2020, the ones who were just starting band in the sixth grade missed a great deal of instruction.
“A challenge for me would be that in sixth grade we had to go virtual,” said Karsen Manning, a seventh grader. “We couldn’t really learn a lot until we came here. When we did come here, we had everything thrown at us. We had to adapt really fast.”
Adapting is exactly what they did.
“The seventh and eighth graders adapted quickly to the new band director and the new notes we were learning because we originally didn’t know how to play the higher octaves or anything like that,” explained Karsen. “Mr. Stringer, and of course our section leaders, taught us how to do that. We learned how to march very quickly, and we learned how to do all these things in what seemed like the blink of an eye.”
The younger students weren’t the only ones who had to adapt to changes.
“It’s been interesting having to adapt, not just with the mask wearing and spacing out, but with things like bell covers,” stated Jenna Kasselman, a junior. “We usually have to use them during competition. They change the way you sound and the way you tune. That’s something you have to get used to right off the bat. We didn’t know about it or practice with the bell covers until the day before we went to competition. It was kind of interesting.”
Despite the difficulties they were faced with, the band still managed to accomplish something major: growth.
“I’m the drum major this year, and I definitely feel like we’ve grown this year from the past years,” expressed Summer Satcher, senior. “We learned a lot of new things, and Mr. Stringer goes in depth about things. He doesn’t just give us an answer; he gives us an answer and explains, so I feel like we’ve grown. I’m really proud of everybody this year because we’ve learned a lot, and we work together.”
Some of the ways the band has grown may seem small to some, but the small changes have made a huge impact on their sound.
“I feel like we’ve grown tremendously since this year started. Even the seemingly simple thing like tuning is one of the things that has gotten better,” explained Jenna. “With just the tuning, we already sound better. With all the techniques he’s taught us—how to count the rhythms out to yourself and explicit and implied dynamics—I just think we sound completely different.”
The growth has even helped some students excel more than they could have imagined this year.
“I’ve been in band since sixth grade, and I have learned more in this year than I have in all the other years,” declared Madison Fowler, senior. “Mr. Stringer has helped me come out of my comfort zone. I’ve not only gotten better this year, but I’ve also had the courage to switch over to a different instrument.”
One of the things the group contributes to having so much improvement is simply being able to meet in person each day.
“I am very thankful that we are allowed to meet and see one another face-to-face every day,” said Olivia Peavy, senior. “Other bands haven’t had the opportunity to meet or only meet for a short period of time.”
Mr. Stringer is especially grateful for being able to see his students in person.
“We’ve been blessed with a district that has met for school since day one,” stated Mr. Stringer. “We had a few days in the fall where we had to go virtual, but other than that, we’ve had a fairly traditional school year with some exceptions.”
Although they have enjoyed being able to meet in person for practices, the group has also had to miss out on some of the most exciting parts of being in band because of Covid restrictions. This year’s seniors had no idea that their junior year would be the last time they would get to experience some things.
“I would have liked to go to marching competition,” expressed Madison. “That would’ve been a fun experience because we’ve enjoyed doing everything we could with our new band director here, and I really would have liked to experience marching competition with him.”
Not being able to attend marching competition wasn’t the only thing the group had to miss out on. The restrictions caused a problem with bands traveling to away games, so the thrill of having band battles at the football game was truly missed.
“I would’ve liked for other bands to have been allowed to the football games. We still had fun, but it’s a lot different when you have both of the bands because you can do competitions between the two,” explained Summer. “You get to meet other band kids, so I feel like that would’ve really been fun. We’re used to that, but we missed it this year.”
Naturally, improving their skills on an instrument isn’t the only thing the band has learned this year. Even with the pandemic taking place, Mr. Stringer has made sure to incorporate life lessons that the students can use outside of the classroom, and he couldn’t be prouder of his students for taking the lessons to heart.
“These are really good kids. It’s my twenty third year of teaching, and I’ve taught all over the state at different levels. I taught in college for a number of years, but this is a special group,” declared Mr. Stringer. “They want to do better every day. They want to seek excellence. They don’t want to do it halfway. They want to do it the right way—no shortcuts and no excuses. That’s what we encourage, and that’s skills for life.”
The students have definitely taken those skills to heart.
“We’ve learned a lot of valuable lessons—not just about the inner workings of band—but he’s taught us that we can go into life using these skills, such as being the best we can be every day and that the only way to make our life better is by working at it just like we do in band every day,” stated Madison.
Those skills have even helped to create a strong motivation for some of the students.
“He’s really drilled in the fact that we have to be better than we were the day before. What we do today isn’t good enough for tomorrow,” said Kylee Keenan, freshman. “You have to keep working at it and pushing forward. You can’t be complacent.”
It is thanks to all the lessons and improvements that the band is able to see the positive from this pandemic riddled school year. In fact, the band generally agrees on the main positive from the year: Mr. Stringer.
“Something very positive about this year has been the new band director because he’s willing to not only tell us what to do but to teach it,” expressed McKenzie Sullivan, junior. “He will give up his personal time to help those who he sees struggling or come and ask him for help. It’s helped the band out overall.”
Mr. Stringer appreciates the love his students have for him, but he believes he is simply doing his job. He is able to see and understand the impact his job has on everyone, and he makes sure to help each student understand that they are important and equal. Instead of focusing on all the negatives that the pandemic has brought, he does what he can to help each student see exactly how they fit into society and what they are capable of.
“My philosophy is that as a teacher, first and foremost I’m a servant for my students. It’s not about getting trophies. For me, it’s about us chasing excellence and developing the individual within the group,” explained Mr. Stringer. “Band is very much like a microcosm of society. You have a team. We work together. We have goals. We have plans. We have good days, and we have bad days. It’s just like jumping on life with a family or life at a job. We all have responsibilities that we have to take care of. We all make up a whole where no one part is greater than the other. As a director, I’m not more important than a seventh grade clarinet player. We are all important to make the whole. Without one person, the whole dynamic changes.”
Saying this has been an interesting year for the band would simply be an understatement; regardless, they have been able to handle each change that has come their way. They have managed to improve through the unique circumstances. No matter what, they will continue to only get better.
