Franklin High School’s band students got to perform for an audience for the first – and last – time this school year when they took the stage on Monday night.
When COVID-19 shut down mass gathering venues at the end of last school year, the school’s auditorium was emptied of guests for months. Band director Buddy Huckabee said it’s extremely important for growing musicians to practice their craft for a crowd if they want to get better. Without live performances, the school’s symphonic band had literally never played all together before the concert because the participating students are split across different classes.
“This is our first time together on stage,” Huckabee said. “We’ve come a long way to get here.”
During Monday’s performance, dozens of students in the concert, symphonic and jazz bands poured their hearts into the songs they’ve been waiting to share all year. Their catalog ranged from jazz standards to Christmas classics to their The Greatest Showman halftime show to the score of the Harry Potter movies. For students participating in their final show of high school, it was the perfect way to wrap things up.
“The first time our class played this song was in sixth grade with our music teacher, Jenny Huckabee,” senior Teri Martin said of R.G. Tyson’s “The Magic of Harry Potter”. “It seems right to play something that we started our musical journey with.”
After 16 months without a single live show, the concert was a validation of all the hard work the students have been putting in on their music during an unconventional school schedule. It was also a proud moment for the families and friends who finally got to see their students up on stage.
“It’s so great for them,” parent Angela Penland said. “They’re so happy to be back and playing again. This is all they’ve been talking about.”
In addition to the music, the concert featured recognitions for this year’s graduating seniors and members of the Class of 2020 who were in attendance. Unfortunately, the pandemic took away their final weeks in the band, so they didn’t get the finale concert they had waited for. The hope now is that after a strong fundraising period, the band will be back and better than ever in the 2021-22 school year with more opportunities than the last two graduating classes were afforded.
“We’re really hoping that next season will look like a normal band season again,” said Lisa Welch, a Franklin High School teacher and president of the band’s booster club.
Even after a year with fewer performances, erratic practice schedules and rare time to work as a group, Huckabee is encouraged by the resiliency of the band community. He says that the passion they brought to the night’s performance is indicative of the artistic drive that will help the community move forward after the chaos of the pandemic.
“The world will not heal until live music returns,” Huckabee said.
For more information on the Franklin High School band, go online to www.franklinpantherband.com.