Ames' 8th grade band is the only middle school group selected for honor band performance
The Ames Middle School eighth grade band stands alone as the state's best.
The Ames students were the only middle school concert band selected to perform at the Iowa Bandmasters Association Conference on Friday, May 10, in Des Moines.
The musicians will take the downtown Marriot stage at 1 p.m.
The IBA selects a variety of bands each year for its annual conference. Bands across the state send in recordings of their best performances each January, and a listening committee selects the top group from class.
The middle school's 8th grade band last performed at IBA in 2000.
Previous Ames bands to perform at IBA include the 2016 and 2009 AHS Symphonic Bands and the 2007 AMS 6th Grade Band.
Ames Middle School's eighth-grade band teacher, Peter Thompson, said the students are excited to perform on Friday.
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What music will the Ames band play?
The local band will play seven pieces at Friday's IBA Conference, some of which are familiar tunes while several others are new.
"There's a lot of variety in the pieces that we're doing as well as the different types of composers that we're playing," Thompson said. "There are some pieces that are within the last few years, but there's also a piece, 'Sonatina for Band' by Frank Erickson, that goes back to 1962. It's a piece the students' grandparents could have played if they had been in band."
The AMS band is also performing a medley from the Pixar movie "Up," which was at the top of Thompson's list. One of his former colleagues will be the guest conductor.
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What do band students usually perform each year?
Thompson said that in a typical year, the middle school band puts on three concerts, with about three tunes each. The students also take part in an annual ensemble festival, where each lesson group performs a piece.
Thompson was impressed by how enthusiastically the eighth-grade students performed every piece this year.
"Whether it's a big, fast and energetic tune or something more nuanced, they've been able to latch on to all the pieces we've done," Thompson said. "Even if they don't like it at first, they give it a chance, and then they grow to like it over the time that we work on it."
The legacy of the Iowa Bandmasters Association
The IBA, founded in 1928, is almost 100 years old. The association has since grown to a membership of more than 1,000 and is one of the largest and most active bandmaster organizations in the country.
Longtime band instructor shares passion with students
Thompson has taught band at Ames Middle School for 16 years.
He loves the big, complicated nature of the band and he's found more joy as he's gained confidence.
"I love learning to interact and work with students in a way that sets them up to be successful in this musical group," Thompson said.
Love for music thrives despite pandemic
This year's 8th grade band started playing in the fall of 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic enforced strict social distancing.
All of the students' initial band experiences, from selecting an instrument to playing their first notes, were done in front of a computer screen.
Thompson said this particular group is talented, but their unique experience shines a spotlight on the efforts they and their teachers have put in.
"Not only have (the students) been very resilient, but the work of my colleagues to help get these students to where they are was done under very challenging circumstances," Thompson said. "It's been very much a community effort to get them where they are."
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Celia Brocker is a government, crime, political and education reporter for the Ames Tribune. She can be reached at CBrocker@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Ames Tribune: Ames 8th grade concert band recognized by Iowa Bandmasters Association
