A Letter To The Senior Band Kids

I’m a freshman in college, and I play clarinet for both concert band and pep band. My senior year of high school, I marched with a tenor saxophone and played alto for jazz band. I was in musical pit, where I played E flat, B flat, and bass clarinet. I had my hands full, and I loved every second of it.

A year ago, I was exactly where you are--knowing it was my senior year, knowing that at some point, all of this was going to come to an end. Marching season and football pep band was already over, and my entire focus was on my music for Mary Poppins, our school musical. The one thing I didn’t realize, however, was how quickly the year was going to fly.

I had been told, over and over again, that your senior year was going to go by faster than a blink of an eye. I wasn’t a huge fan of school, so I was ecstatic over this news--except for the fact that I didn’t realize what that meant for my days in high school band. Over the course of the month, the musical ended, as did my days of playing in a musical pit.

Then, before I even had time to wrap my mind around it, my winter concert was over, and it was break. My break consisted of me learning my solo for solo and ensemble, not even thinking about the fact that this would be my last solo and ensemble, too. Amid a flurry of basketball pep bands, practicing, and rehearsals, our second concert passed, as did solo and ensemble and state. All that was left was my very last concert as a Denmark band student.

I remember sitting on that stage, the lights shining down on me, and looking out into the stage of band parents for the last time. I remember standing in front of the stage, the school song being played by my fellow band members behind me, and I remember my band teacher’s homework to us-- to not let band and music out of our lives.

And I cried.

Not huge, wracking sobs, mind you, but enough tears to make my eyes--and my cheeks--a little shiny. I consoled myself by saying that I still had graduation; I still had one more time to play with my band, the band that I had been apart of for seven years.

Graduation came, and much to my surprise, I made it through the whole song without so much as a lump in my throat. I walked back to my seat in a haze, not really comprehending that that was my last song as a Denmark student.

I was fine, however, until the band played the music that was our cue to leave the gym. I realized then, that although I wasn’t sure how I was going to be without them, the band was going to be fine without me. Just as it should be. So this is my advice to the seniors in band:

Cherish every minute of it. You may feel like graduation can’t come soon enough, but once it’s actually here, you’ll wonder where your years in band went. You’ll wonder how you will go on with your life without band, but you can do it. You may not be in your band anymore, but you’ll find another band. You’ll find a band that will make you one of theirs. You will find a new band to make yours. If band is really that important to you, you will never be without it. Music is everywhere, if you only care enough to find it. Music is inside of you. Most importantly, however, band will forever be apart of you. You will always have the memories, the pictures, and the stories of your time in band, and these are memories that are impossible to spoil.

Do me a favor: don’t let the rest of this year go by without stopping to think. Don’t be like me--don’t take your senior year for granted. Remember every moment of it, cherish every moment of it, and above all, have fun.

You’ve put your time in--you deserve it.

Good luck, and have a wonderful rest of your high school band career, my friends.