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Community  talent lauded

To The Editor:
Congratulations to our Union City Middle School System, our faithful community supporters and especially to the Union City Middle School band directors and their musical students.
On Dec. 9, my family and I attended the wonderful Christmas concert at the Union City Civic Auditorium. The program was performed by the Union City Middle School sixth-, seventh- and eighth-grade bands. Each grade performed independently with the sixth grade first, followed by the seventh and eighth.
As a band mother and grandmother, I am a veteran of many Union City Middle School band concerts and I would like to share my “unbiased” thoughts with you.
Our community is unusually blessed with remarkable talent. This is true not just because we have talented young people, but also because of the outstanding musical education given to any student in our school system who desires to be in one of our bands.
The participants in the Union City Middle School bands are not chosen on the basis of status or heritage, but rather on standards of decency or courtesy. Once in the bands they are required to be attentive and cooperative. The band directors have high standards which help the children learn to function successfully and productively in life. The students learn to work as a team and to be dependable in performing their individual, unique roles to the best of their ability for the good of the whole band. The ability to develop an ear for music and to appreciate and enjoy good music is a valuable gift which these students are receiving.
As I sat in the auditorium and listened to the sixth-grade’s performance, I was amazed at how well they played to have had only 31⁄2 months of musical instruction. The tunes they played were easily recognizable and delightful. You could sense that they were enjoying themselves as they performed.
Next, I listened to the seventh-grade band and marveled at how much they had improved over the past year. These students have had a total of 12 months of instruction and you realize how much progress they have made in a year.
Finally, as the eighth-grade presented their music I was impressed by how excellent they were. It was obvious that these students had learned discipline and commitment to a cause larger than themselves. These lessons will be quite valuable to them in life as they grow and become responsible, productive men and women.
Our community is to be commended as well. The Civic Auditorium was filled to capacity and the parking lot was full. This strong public support obviously encouraged the students to perform as well as they could. It made me proud to be a citizen of Union City.
Finally, I want to give credit to the dedicated and patient band directors, John Easley and Jason Deem. They have played a very significant role in the development and maintenance of this remarkable program.
Thank you so much, Union City School System.

Lelia Warner
Union City

Published in The 1.2.13

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