This Friday, Sept. 4, middle school students from around the FHN area will be coming to see what high school band is like. Parents will receive information about high school band as well. The goal of this event is to let students have the opportunity to learn what being in band at a different age level is like and to help boost participation numbers.

“We started this a while back, probably my second year,” FHN band teacher Jeff Moorman said. “The whole goal of this middle school night is to help middle school students that are either unsure about continuing in high school and have never seen a marching band, have never seen what goes on during a football game. We have schools that come from parochial, so they’ve never been involved here at all or they’ve never known what actually goes on whether that’s student related, instrument related.”

The middle school students will be watching the marching band warm up before the football game, sitting in the bleachers and listening to the music. During half time, they will get snacks, watch the marching band performance, and then are free to go or stick around.

“If they are interested in pursuing music at a high school level, it’s something they should go and see for themselves,” Barnwell Middle School band teacher Doug McKay said. “Probably the biggest reason [they should go] is because it’s hard to describe what it’s like to be in high school, the energy, the enthusiasm, just the overall atmosphere of people cheering for one another, encouraging each other and coming together as a group.”

FHN marching band students will be introducing themselves and showing what it is like to be involved in high school band.

“I think it’s an important event just to add members to the band because without it, a lot of them don’t know that it’s an option for them,” junior marching band student Fionna Pillow said.