April 23 marks the day of the Pleasant Valley District Band Night. The huge event is where all of the amazing musicians that are a part of the Pleasant Valley band get together in one place. The event starts with the sixth grade bands and slowly progresses through all of the grade levels, finishing off with the Wind Symphony. After all of the bands have individually played they get together and all play “America the Beautiful” together. “Playing as one huge band really makes you feel like you are a part of the big band family,” said senior Nathan McKay.
With this event being the first time that all of the sixth graders getting to play together it is a wonderful way to transition them into their junior high and high school bands where they will be with more kids from different schools. It is also a great time for current high school students to meet the incoming freshmen. “I always enjoy getting to meet all of the tubas,” said Jacob Bumann, a senior. “It is cool getting to see all of the people that are taking your place in the years to come.” Also because this event involves all of the grade levels, it lets the young members of the band see how far they can go and progress throughout this program.
Pleasant Valley is known for having one of the largest bands in the state of Iowa and with this enormous size they don’t just fit in a gymnasium. That’s why for the second year, the are hosting the event at the Taxslayer center at 7 p.m. so that all of the bands will be able to play together. The event is the largest that the band has to offer and they are looking forward to having anyone and everyone come and see the large-scale performance.
