They’re with the band

Early in the morning, the west hallway at West Valley High School echoes with the sound of music. But it’s not just the high school band students making the noise, it’s also fifth-graders from around the district who come to learn how to create music with their instruments.

Faced with flagging interest in band by the younger students, high school band director Jim Loucks teamed up with middle school band director Kyle Bosch to bring the fifth-graders to the high school to benefit from the same instruction the award-winning high school marching band receives.

“We want to utilize this great facility,” Loucks said. “Our numbers were not where we wanted them to be. The fifth-grade band is really this backbone of middle school and high school band.”

Fifth-graders from four elementary schools arrive at 8 a.m. On Mondays and Thursdays the brass and percussion sections arrive, while the woodwinds meet on Tuesdays and Fridays. The morning sessions also expose the fifth-graders to expensive equipment like marimbas, xylophones and bells that can’t be found in elementary schools. “It’s really helped from a musical standpoint; the cohesiveness of the program,” he said.

The plan to increase the number of elementary band students has worked, almost a little too well. There are 70 students enrolled in band, up from 50 last year. There are 30 more on a waiting list because the district doesn’t have enough instruments for them to play.

The younger students get a ride to the high school from their parents or can ride the high school bus that goes through their neighborhood. The district buses them back to their home school before classes start for the day. The elementary teachers like the new arrangement because their schedules aren’t interrupted. “There are no pullouts from class,” Loucks said. “I know the teachers love it.”

On a recent Thursday, the high school percussion students joined Loucks in the hallway to teach beginning players the intricacies of playing the bells or xylophone. Loucks walked them through the notes, stopping them when things didn’t sound quite right. “I’ve got some of you making this up,” he said. “Put your left mallet on the low C and your right mallet on the high C.”

“More wrist and less arm,” said sophomore Sean Cunningham to a fifth-grade student playing the bells.

Inside the band room, Bosch worked with the students playing brass instruments, cajoling the students away from their ragged efforts into something more synchronized. “Breathe where the breath mark is, nowhere else,” he said.

As the students practiced, he decided to jump ahead to a more advanced song that only some students had worked on. “If you don’t know this, fake me out,” he said. “I don’t want to be able to tell who is playing and who’s not.”

While he enjoys his work at the high school, Loucks also has fun with the younger students. “The fifth grade is where it’s at,” he said. “Their progress is unbelievable the first year.”

Seth Woodard Elementary fifth-grader Lexi Aubert, who plays the trombone, said she likes coming to the high school. “It’s a nice high school and the kids are nice,” she said.

The trombone was one of two instruments she said she wanted to play at the beginning of the year. “I have big enough lungs, I guess,” she said. “It seemed like fun and challenging.”

Chris Babinski is one of two seniors who regularly help teach the younger students. A band student for eight years, he hopes to teach elementary band. As the younger student’s practiced, he frequently would pick up an instrument and play along to show how it’s done.

Babinski said he’s not sure how many instruments he can play. “Too many to count,” he said. “I like to pick up as many instruments as I can.”

Cunningham, who plays the vibraphone, said he gets a kick out of helping the fifth graders. “I love working with the younger kids,” he said. “They’re going to be in my position in a few years. It’s just fun to help them out.”

The fifth-grade students will perform with the high school band at least three times this year, including the Christmas holiday concert. But anyone who wants a preview just needs to stop by the high school’s west hallway early in the morning to hear the sound of music.