Nimitz Honor Band looking forward to MFA festival

Mar. 14—When the Nimitz Middle School Honor Band performs at the 2024 Music for All National Festival next week it will be a first.

The festival, presented by Yamaha, will be held in Indianapolis March 21-23.

The Music for All National Festival will feature high school and middle school ensembles from across the country, considered the nation's premier non-competitive festival for scholastic instrumental music ensembles. Student musicians perform at top venues, receiving evaluation and feedback from a panel of renowned conductors and clinicians, and participate in educational workshops. Invited ensembles include high school and middle school concert bands, orchestras, percussion ensembles, and chamber ensembles, all who have achieved the highest level of scholastic excellence.

The Nimitz Honor Band will performing a send-off concert at 7 p.m. March 17 at the Wagner No?l Performing Arts Center.

The band, under the direction of Jordan Freeman, Taryn McMillan and Channing Freeman, were selected following a rigorous application and audition process.

The festival starts at 1 p.m. March 21 and there are various activities March 21 and 22. Their performance is at 8:30 a.m. March 23 at the Howard L. Schrott Center for the Arts at Butler University.

About 3,000 musicians are expected.

"It's a competitive process to get selected, but once you get selected, it's just a festival. We're going to go and perform and I think we have four evaluators that evaluate our performance and will give us comments," said Freeman, who is director of bands at Nimitz. "We do a clinic after the concert with them."

Jordan Freeman said there are 47 students in the Honor Band. He added that this is the first time an Odessa middle school has been invited to this festival.

Freeman said his students work hard and they're committed and dedicated.

"Last year's group that submitted recordings, they worked hard all the way through the end of the year. This year's group, they worked hard all the way through the end of the year. This year's group, they've attended extra rehearsals to prepare for this, after school and on weekends; very dedicated and hard working students," Freeman said.

Last year was the first time they submitted to the festival. They also competed last year in the Texas Music Educators Association Honor Band process. They got 11th in the state semifinals, but he decided to throw in a recording to Music for All as well to see what would happen.

It will be a 30-minute concert.

Eighth-grade French horn player Valeria Paiva, seventh-grade flutist Inara Harris, eighth-grade clarinetist Savannah Abila, and eighth-grade bassoon player Madison Moad say they are excited about taking part in the festival.

"It's the first time I've ever done something like this. It's fun," Abila said.

Moad said she thought it was "pretty cool to do since we haven't done this before at this school."

Paiva said going to the festival is exciting.

"We get to go to Indianapolis," and it's the first time the school has been invited to the festival, she said.

Harris said it's an honor that they get to represent Nimitz and represent ECISD.

"I think it's going to be fun and an exciting process for all of us," she added.

Being in seventh grade, Harris has just come from beginner band, but she said they are ready for the event.

"Mr. Freeman has worked us hard for this and I think when we get there it's going to be all worth it," Harris said.

"It's a little nervous for some parts and some music pieces that we're doing, but again, Mr. Freeman has very much worked with us on this," she added.

Harris' dad, Austin, said being invited is a good testimony to the kids' skill. He said most of the students hadn't picked up an instrument in the last two years.

"To go from that to being selected for such an honor, it's a pretty good testimony to how much hard work they put in and (the) leadership," Austin Harris said.

Erika Pocaterra, a fifth-grade bilingual teacher at Hays STEAM Academy, is Paiva's mom. She said it's a great experience for the kids because it will bring them on stage with other middle and high school bands from around the country.

Chuck Moad, Madison's dad, said he's very proud of the band.

"I was in the Nimitz band many years ago and our band sounded nothing like this. They are so good and so impressive and when we bring people to their concerts, they all say this has got to be a high school band because of how really well they play. It's due to their hard work and the hard work of the directors because, just like sports, they stay late and do practices after school. They come in early for sections. They are here sometimes on weekends, or whenever they have to be here in order to be successful," Moad said. "They did this last year. It was a great sounding band last year and they're a great sounding band this year. I'm impressed and just very proud of what they've done and what they've accomplished. Couldn't be prouder."

Freeman said this will help future band performances.

"We sometimes can get secluded out here in West Texas and they're going to be able to see a bunch of different bands from all over the nation. I think there's eight other bands from Texas going, one band from Georgia and so they're going to get to see these bands perform and play. They're going to meet kids. There's a student social they get to go to, so they'll get to meet kids from all over the state and the nation. It will be a really cool experience for them," Freeman added.