High school band

I just heard that an enormous amount of 8th graders quit band some time over the summer or right before school started. There's currently 12 band members in the 8th grade band; just three are trumpets.

This "hey, let's quit band" trend has gone from annoying to really, really truly shameful. That's all I can say, as I am mad enough to spit nails right now. It's totally unfair to the new band teacher for a large group of kids to get the hair-brained idea to quit band and follow through on it.

Best not to speak when angry, right?

I'm very anxious to find out how many of the returning members of the senior high band are still in band when I talk to the new band teacher tomorrow morning. Fact: 54 band members were in the incoming 9th, 10th, 11th and 12th grades if everyone in band last spring stayed in it this year. Our former band teacher, Chris Coppicus, built our senior high band into something truly great. A band is a lot like football. The more numbers the better! Can you have a great band with few members? Yes, but it's extremely difficult to do, no different than having a truly great football team with few members.