New band room, ?fine tuned? and ready to go
In a symbolic gesture, members of the Onaway Area Schools band program may want to consider playing ?Taps? when they leave the old band room with its worn carpet and cramped spaces. The exciting move to the new facility is expected within a week, as construction crews have wrapped up that part of the building project approved by voters last year. As the band marches down the hall to the new facility, they could play ?Happy Days Are Here Again.?
IT?S AN EXCITING time for the band program. The Christmas program in December was a great success. A large crowd enjoyed the performances of the students, who spent hours practicing the Christmas tunes. Fundraising for new uniforms has gone well. Donations have been received for uniforms and instruments, but it?s the room that has the school staff and students ready to ?Strike Up the Band.?
?It?s a gorgeous room. It?s about three times as big as this,? said band director Larry Shaffer, standing in the old band room Wednesday. ?The fact that we have a place for everything to go… It always looks cluttered in here.? The new facility has a wall of lockers for instruments and is acoustically treated, with practice rooms, and an office for the director. ?Its heating system is totally separate from the rest of the school,? Shaffer said. ?It?s kind of a self-contained building.? That area of the school (the southwest corner of the complex), was designed with extra-wide doors, so instruments are not damaged when they are moved in and out.
SHAFFER SAID the band students can?t wait to perform in the new room. Some fifth graders, arriving for their 2:30 p.m. class Wednesday, kept asking Shaffer, ?when is it going to be, when are we moving.? ?The band room has them the most excited,? said Shaffer.
?At least we?ll be able to fit some more people in there, because we are crowded in this one right now,? said fifth grader Jared Deletka. Fellow fifth grader Tiffany Krusell also believes the extra room is much needed, as does Allen Stevens. ?Something new is always exciting,? Stevens said, just before the group of 12 begged Shaffer to play a Christmas song. He relented and the holiday break didn?t seem to cloud their memory. To celebrate the move, a combination fundraiser/public open house will be conducted February 11. A spaghetti dinner to raise additional money for the uniforms will be from 5 to 7 p.m. in the band room, with the OHS Jazz Ensemble providing the entertainment. Shaffer talked about the fundraising for the uniforms between songs at the Christmas program last mo
THE COST of a tuxedo ($135), embroidered overlay ($235), and hat ($40), comes to about $400. ?But these are uniforms that should last years,? said Shaffer, ?and if we keep updating them each year, they should last a long time.? Carter?s Food Center has made contributions through its sales receipt program and grants from the Mr. Holland?s Opus Foundation also have been received. Locally, a grant from the Communities First Fund Foundation of $3,500, through Presque Isle Electric and Gas Co-op?s bill round up program, was received for uniforms.
?It?s been very good, very good,? said Shaffer of the funds already collected. Shaffer said the students ?are very excited about it all and they are glad to get some nicer uniforms.? Just wondering if the Jazz Ensemble knows the Kool and the Gang song, ?Celebration.? There?s time to work on it.