Since March, the bands of H.B. Whitehorne Middle School have been able to practice and play together only through Zoom. Yesterday, however, band directors Dan Halpern and Brian Michalowski brought some of the sixth and eighth graders together on the field behind the school for an in-person band jam.
“It is so great so see you all here in person and not on my computer screen,” Michalowski shouted.
The band directors had spaced music stands far apart on the field and everyone who participated went through a temperature check before they took their places. The students pulled up their own masks between numbers, and some even got to wear them while playing: The flutists wore special face coverings that they could actually thread their instruments through, and the brass and saxophone players got Verona-branded bell covers for their instruments. The practice was short, just 45 minutes or so after the school day ended, but the smiles in the sunshine made it clear that it was welcome.
Halpern and Michalowski are going to repeat the band jam with fifth and seventh graders on Thursday.
