The Fair Grove Middle School Bands performed their first concert of the year. The fall concert took place on November 14th, 2025 in the high school gym.
The band instructor for the middle school and high school is Natalie Palomo. She expressed that the middle schoolers have been working on their fall pieces for about eight weeks before their concert. Palomo stated, “The middle schoolers are doing a great job! They’re all working hard and driven to improve, and it’s been fun prepping for their first concert cycle.”
Ava Johnson (8), a percussion player, stated, “Palomo has helped teach me ways to stay on time with the music and better sticking.” Lawson Boyer (7), also a percussion player, said that Palomo keeps the band in order and is also a very fun band director.
Johnson expressed that the way she has grown from the beginning of the school year was that she learned how to play more instruments and learn better sticking patterns. Boyer said he improved his ability to read sheet music better than he used to.
The bands include fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth grade. Every band gets one hour of the school day with Palomo to practice their pieces for upcoming concerts. Palomo commented that all these hours include fundamental warm ups, rehearsing concert pieces, fine tuning things that need more work, and refining dynamics.
According to Palomo, these are the pieces each grade played. The fifth graders played a few songs from their method books as well as “Hot Cross Buns” and “Taking It All In.” The sixth graders played “Embark,” “Alien Invasion,” and “Victory Fanfare.” The seventh grade played “Alpha Squadron,” “Jellybeans” and “Stolen Castle.” Lastly, the eighth graders played “Aggresivo,” “Scepter,” and “Battlestar.”
Palomo commented, “I try to find music that fits the abilities of the groups to let them shine while also challenging them to perform at higher levels each year.”
Their goal for the concert, according to Palomo, was to feel a sense of pride for their first public performance, as well as showcasing all of the skills they have learned since the beginning of the school year. Boyer expressed his goals for the concert, “My goals are that me and the band perform with minimal mistakes.”
Palomo expressed, “I think it was a huge success! All the bands sounded great and the kids were able to really show off what they’ve been working on for a few months now.”
The Fair Grove Middle School Bands next performances will be some type of performance in February, and then following with their next formal performance on April 24th.
