More than 50 years ago, the bands in the district joined for a night of music and community, and this year is no different.
The concert and live auction is Thursday, April 17, at 7 p.m. at Montezuma-Cortez High School. Doors open at 6:15 p.m., and it’s free. Auctions, held between band performances, benefit the bands.
“It brings all the bands in the district together,” William Winslow, director of bands for the district, told The Journal. “I think there’s almost 300 kids at the middle school and almost 100 kids at the high school, so it will be almost 400 performers.”
Because of its scale, the event is held in the Montezuma-Cortez High School gymnasium rather than the auditorium.
The bands perform separately, then come together at the end of the night to play “Battle Hymn of the Republic” and “Sing for America,” which have been performed at All-District Band Night since its inception.
“We work on the music for a few months beforehand,” Winslow said. “We’re preparing, trying to make it sound as good as possible.”
Winslow shared that one of his favorite parts about preparing for the event is seeing the community and bands come together.
“I’m always very excited for this thing, because I think it’s a really cool example of the community coming together,” Winslow said. “We have the band with donations from various businesses, all the people who attend and all the students who come. It’s been around so long. All the people that are in town who were in band remember doing it, and it’s a fun connection. There’s multiple generations there.”
