8th Grade Band
As Ludington band students enter their 8th grade year, many concepts and tools have been developed. The 8th grade year is a time to test our students and the band as a whole. The 8th grade band travels every year to the District One MSBOA Band and Orchestra Festival. At this festival the band prepares three pieces and performs them for a panel of three judges. All judges give letter grades to a number of categories then evaluate the overall performance with a roman numeral, I being outstanding to V.
Students also participate in the sight-reading event of the festival where the band must review 2 pieces within 7 minutes and then perform them for a rating. Our students take festival seriously and make the event a big priority throughout the year. Along with festivals, the 8th graders play 2 concerts a year and perform for our Veterans in November.
Eighth graders also have the opportunity to participate in the LHS O-Funk, which is comprised of high school students. This is a great way for our 8th graders to get a taste of what is like to play in a high school ensemble! An 8th grade band student becomes a high school student early in this program. All 8th graders enrolled for the next year's LHS Wind Ensemble performs with the high school students at the Memorial Day Parade. This is an exciting time for our music students. The year goes by quickly and our junior high students find themselves as freshman!