After a few weather conflicts, 11 of our PHS band members were finally able to perform in the MAAA Honor Band under the direction of retired PHS band director Mr. Jeff Singer on Jan 11 at the Farmington Centene Center.
The MAAA Honor Band is made up of roughly 110 band members from each of our surrounding schools. The honor band has been established for over 50 years and students are chosen to participate by their own directors for earning All-District honors, All-State honors, or just being an exceptional band student.
The concert was originally scheduled for Jan 8 but was postponed due to winter weather. The practice day on Jan 6 was also canceled due to weather conditions, forcing students to learn the challenging college level music quicker than anticipated. However, this was no challenge to the students of Potosi.
The MAAA members left school early on Thursday to get a quick practice in before the concert that night and performed flawlessly.
Kaiden Kamper was able to participate in the MAAA Honor Band for his first time as a freshman percussionist. Kamper said, “It was pretty fun. I made some new friends and I enjoyed it overall. It felt special to do this because not a lot of freshmen get this opportunity.”
Junior Alexia Odle participated in the band for her second time this year being the only trumpet player selected from Potosi. Odle said, “MAAA is the best of the best. It’s a really cool experience being able to play with other people and see how they take care of the music in their own way.”
Along with these two students, Jaxon Huffman, Cheylee Long, Peyton Coleman, Odie Jackson, Brayden White, Courtney Wade, Elizabeth Pratt, and Abbi Bowen were also members of the MAAA Honor Band this year. A few of the older members from PHS remember having Mr. Singer as a director during their middle school years and were excited to see him back. In regards to having Mr. Singer as the clinician, Odle said, “Having Mr. Singer really brought back memories. It was nice to have a familiar face and be able to understand the way he directs.”
Mr. Singer was obviously no stranger to directing this band as he directed the PHS bands for 22 years. Mr. Singer said, “It made me kind of miss it. How the kids performed tonight goes to show what the young people in our world are capable of. I’ve always loved teaching band and I hope I get the opportunity to do it again sometime.”
The MAAA Honor Band Concert showcased the talent of each student extremely well through the five pieces chosen by Mr. Singer. The audience was blown away by the talent and capabilities of the high school group. MAAA truly does have “the best of the best.”
