Before winter break, Marsteller Middle School's choir, orchestra, and band students visited several elementary schools to spread cheer and inspire younger students to continue with music in middle school.
Jacob Lash, music teacher at Victory Elementary School, said the middle school visit is always the highlight of the last few days of school prior to break.
“They see what they can become, and they also get a glimpse of the choices they have in middle school [for music],” Lash said.
Shannon Fairbank, band director at Marsteller Middle, said the joy is felt by both the older and younger students alike.
“We really love to come out and visit with the elementary schools, spread some holiday cheer, have a good time, and the kids get to come back to their old elementary schools and visit teachers,” Fairbank shared.
Each group performed a holiday musical medley for the audience. The women's choir even dedicated a special song to Wandalyn Boley, who was in attendance. Boley taught for 46 years in PWCS as a choir director at Osbourn Park and Unity Reed High Schools.
Fairbank said the hope is to encourage students to stick with music through 12th grade and beyond. “That’s always our goal, to inspire a love of music for the kids and hopefully create a lifelong passion to get them to continuing playing their instrument into adulthood.”