The Village School band programs presented a thrilling, music-filled concert on Oct. 27, 2025, in the auditorium. The concert included performances of both the high school and middle school band sectors. This was the first time a band concert had ever been held in the new auditorium. They were previously held outside or at other locations.

The night started with the middle school show directed by Sarah Perkins, the middle school band director. The performance was split into four sections: of 5th Grade band, the 6th Grade beginning (6B), the 6th Grade advanced (6A), then finally a performance from the “Viking Band”. They enacted a variety of short but sweet songs like Mary had a Little Lamb, Shadow Fire, Mallet Maniac, and many more. The auditorium made for a small, but open space for everyone to perform. The band team has been practicing for months of school before this.

After the middle school performances, the high school program performed for an hour. They were sectioned into three parts of the main Concert Band, the Jazz Ensemble, and the Advanced Jazz Ensemble. Despite having the same amount of time to prepare, they had a lot more experience in their instruments, which led to a far more elaborate and extensive showing. Junior Jason Gu described the improvement in practice as, “When you’re playing each single song, you have to use a lot of different techniques as it kind of increases your finger flexibility,” junior Jason Gu said.

The high school program differentiated itself from the middle school by having multiple songs performed in one segment, stringing them together into one piece. Furthermore, the Regular Jazz Ensemble and Advanced Jazz Ensemble had solo performances alongside the songs. This was a very open and individualized process where the performers could fill a time slot with whatever type of solo they wanted. “Some of it they prepare beforehand, some of it is done in the moment,” High School Band Director Jennifer Sihler-Hunt said.

After the final performances, both directors shared their satisfaction with being able to put on this show.  The band director shared that the passion of the students is something that drives them to participate at their best. “A lot of times, you have to take math, you have to take science, but in band, they want to do it,” Perkins said.