AGHS Pirate band to perform at prominent event

Band one of best in state, ‘It’s like winning the Super Bowl’
 
The Ash Grove Pirate Band has been selected to go to the Missouri Music Educators Association’s (MMEA) workshop/ conference in Tan-Tar-A Resort at Osage Beach, where they will perform for people attending the convention.
Michelle Carter, who teaches band at Ash Grove High School, described the conference as an event where several music education professionals will be gathered.
“(The conference) is an annual event that hosts many events over a four-day period,” she said. “Not only do teachers from all facets of the music educator industry have opportunities for professional development during this time frame, but students from all over the state of Missouri that have auditioned and earned a ‘chair’ in one of the All-State groups … rehearse and perform concerts for those in attendance.”
Carter also said that it is no small accomplishment for a band to be invited to the conference.
“This is a huge honor,” she said. “It is like winning the Super Bowl huge. It means that Ash Grove has one of the best bands in the state of Missouri.”
Thirty-one band students will attend the conference in January, Carter said: 12 eighth graders, seven freshmen, three sophomores, seven juniors and two seniors.
“To say the band is young is an understatement, but I have confidence in them and their abilities to get the job done and deliver a solid … performance,” she said. Carter added that attending the conference is also a milestone for the Pirate Band.
“To the best of my knowledge, earning a performance at MMEA is a first for the Ash Grove High School Band program,” she said. “These students are making school history and are setting the bar pretty high for future bands here at AGHS. Being selected to perform at the State Convention is a tremendous honor. We were selected through a ‘blind audition’ process. I cannot stress enough how impressive this achievement is. I am so proud of them.”
Carter also said some of the credit for the band’s accomplishment goes to two AGHS students who graduated last year.
“I would like to thank our 2021 band seniors, Alexandra Baker and Ethan Carter, for their contributions to our concert recordings,” she said. “Alexandra played trumpet and Ethan played French horn. Without their musical knowledge and skills, our recordings would not have been the same.”
The conference will take place from Jan. 26 through Jan. 29, 2022.