(Photo submitted) The Spencer High School Concert Band's next performance will be at its Awards Concert, at 7 p.m., Tuesday, May 13 at the Spencer Field House.

Students of the Spencer Community Schools Instrumental Music Department recently completed three days of performances and contests, which they capped off with Division I ratings. The series of concerts, tours and contests involved over 300 band students ranging grades from five through 12.

The first event was the annual Fifth through Eighth Grade Spring Band Concert that was held Thursday evening, May 1 at the Spencer Middle School.

The program for the fifth grade band consisted of "Defender of Time" arranged by Mark Williams, "Fields of Glory" by Elliot Del Borgo and "Creepy Crawlies" by Michael Story. The sixth grade band performed "Royal Tournament" by John Kinyon, "Jupiter (from "The Planets)" by Gustav Holst arranged by Michael Story and "African Spirit Dance" by John O'Reilly.

The second half of the evening featured the seventh and eighth grade bands. The seventh grade band performed selections that included "Pueblo (Land of Ancient Peoples)" by John Higgins, "A Childhood Hymn" by David Holsinger and "John Williams In Concert" arranged by Paul Lavender.

The eighth grade band's program consisted of "Regenesis (Song of The Planet)" by John Higgins, "Prospect (from "The Southern Harmony)" arranged by Pierre LaPlante and "Grease!" arranged by John Moss. The fifth and sixth grade bands are under the direction of Janet Boyens and the seventh and eighth grade bands are under the direction of Paul Jepson.

Friday, May 2 proved equally as busy as the sixth grade band performed on its annual morning tour of the all the elementary schools in the Spencer School District.

"This is a big event for the sixth grade band," said Boyens. "They really look forward to performing for their friends and showing off what they have learned".

Friday evening, however, was time for the high school students to shine as they traveled to Le Mars to compete in the IHSMA State Large Group Music Contest where they received a Division I rating for their performance "Dusk" by Steven Bryant and "Cajun Folk Songs" by Frank Ticheli.

Other schools in Class 3A Competition were Storm Lake, Spirit Lake, Le Mars, MOC Floyd Valley and Sergeant Bluff -- Luton. Each group performs for three adjudicators and is judged on a 5 division rating system with a Division I being a "superior" performance and a Division V being a "poor" performance.

"Our students were very well prepared, and their hard work and perseverance paid off ", said Schwarck. "We are all very proud of what we have done together. I hope everyone who knows a student in the group tells that person what a wonderful job they do. In organizations like ours, the kids are the ones that make the good things happen, and they need to know that their successes are recognized and appreciated".

The following day, the eighth grade band traveled to Des Moines to compete in the Adventureland/ Drake Relays Band Festival. Sporting new purple polo shirts, the eighth grade band performed two of their pieces from Thursday night's concert and were a rewarded a Division I rating and also received second place in their class. "I felt this was a great honor and a fantastic experience for our students", said Director Paul Jepson. "We haven't taken a band to Des Moines to compete in this event for quite some time, and the kids represented our school and program very well."

All three directors expressed their thanks to the school, parents and community for the support they receive during the year.

"None of this would have been possible without our school and community making the effort to provide our students with the resources they need to be successful, and our parents giving their time, effort and family support", said Schwarck. "It all goes together to produce well-rounded students who grow up to be great people. We all should be very proud of these students".