Band performed their first concert of the year Dec. 7. According to sophomore Tanner Halley, he said he made sure to prepare for the concert as much as he could.

“I got ready, I practiced every day, I never skipped class and I had to be in class every day to put in the work,” Halley said. “I worked most on learning from my mistakes in class. If I get a part wrong, I always go back and fix it then do what I can to make her song better.”

Band teacher Steve Schmidt said that the band as a whole took multiple months to prepare for the concert.

“We work on pep bands for pretty much all of September. Then we started learning this music for October and November, then finally a variety of rehearsal techniques,” Schmidt said.

Senior Charlie Poulter said he owes his good performance towards his teacher.

”I just have to give all the credit to Mr. Schmidt. He’s a great teacher, he brings positive energy every single day and I’ve never had a doubt he’s always gonna have a smile on his face. He always makes my day better,” Poulter said.

Poulter also said Schmit makes band class an enjoyable and rewarding experience. .

“An important element towards enjoying a class is a good teacher and Mr. Schmidt is a good example of a dedicated teacher, Poulter said. The thing that inspired me to join the band (was) Mr. Schmidt, he’s the best teacher out there, If there is a raise that needs to be done in the school, it’s him,” Poulter said.

Halley also said the class battled through difficulties to create the performance.

“We practiced every day in class — we tuned, we worked it out when we had struggled and it really paid off,” Halley said. “At the start we had to really put everything together to make sure it all worked out, and in the end, it was a great performance.”

According to Schmidt, his favorite part about the concert was seeing everyone’s hard work paid off.

“My favorite part is probably the last piece and seeing the pride on their faces because that one was the hardest and they also liked it the best, so it’s cool to see them embrace the challenge. (That’s) what makes it a piece of art,” Schmidt said.