Recently, Big Sandy hosted the 35th Annual Middle School Mass Band Festival. 165 musicians represented the 6th, 7th, and 8th grades. Schools participating besides Big Sandy were Havre, CJI, Harlem, Box Elder, Chinook, and North Star.
The 6th grade band concert band was conducted by hi-line music teachers. They played 12 The Clock Strikes, Farwell at Dawn, and Legend of Boudica.
Guest conductor Cole Bass conducted the 7th and 8th grade Symphonic Band.
Cole Bass is from East Helena High School. His reputation is that he "works really well with the kids." The students arrived in Big Sandy at one o'clock. They practiced from then until about five, and then they were fed with the help of the Big Sandy Community Church of God. The Church of God supplied about half of the food, with the rest being covered by the school.
TJ Bond said, "The last one we had in Chinook, and then due to some COVID and the like, the festival fell to the wayside, and we started coming back about three years ago. Since then, it's just been hosted by different schools. This is the first time in a very long time that Big Sandy has hosted.
The high school gym was packed, and seating was crowded. "It warmed my heart to see how many extra chairs we needed because the bleachers were absolutely full, with people right next to each other.
TJ said, "The students did a fantastic showing on all fronts. I was just so happy with how smooth everything went. The students were super polite to the Church of God, which I was very happy about. From a logistics standpoint, it went extremely smoothly. And from a concert and music standpoint, it was a wonderful experience for everyone. I'm very elated that the first time I've hosted a large event in my life, it went as well as it did.
