In late March, the Farmington Music Department had its annual festival called District Wide in the new high school gymnasium. The performance spanned two nights and featured band students from West Woods Upper Elementary to Farmington High School (FHS).
Typically concerts in elementary, middle, and high school feature band, orchestra, and choir coming together. There are also performances where just the band, orchestra, and choir ensembles of each school have their own concert. These concerts are the most common. Compared to those, District Wide is unique in the pattern it follows each year.
“It has been going on for many years and we alternate on a three year cycle. One year band, one year choir, one year orchestra,” stated FHS Band director Jeffrey Ventres.
In 2020, students across the country were sent home due to the dangers of the Covid-19 virus. When this happened, all of the band students from elementary to high school were a week away from putting on District Wide. The year before, music teacher Jeffrey Ventres had just been hired as the new Farmington High School Band Director. This event last took place in 2019 when the Farmington choirs came together to perform. This year the students got the long awaited opportunity to perform together and Mr. Ventres was able to conduct his first District Wide festival.
“Pre-Covid it had been happening for at least 20 years, if not more,” Ventres remarked. “This is the first time we’ve had the performance happen since Covid.”
For students who have participated in band since attending West Woods, they’re old enough to remember District Wide and to have participated in it. The opportunity has been a good way for Farmington Music to promote creativity amongst younger people and create connections within the community.
“It’s a great way for younger kids to get to meet the high schoolers and for the parents to see what the music program is like in the high school,” said FHS Junior, and oboist Vander Zimmerman.
Zimmerman is a lifetime lover of the arts and has played in the Northern Regionals and All State Orchestra.
“Music is my thing. I do orchestra outside of school, chamber music and it’s kind of just started my journey into adulthood. I’m probably going to do this in college and the concert band here was what started that,” Zimmerman added.
Being the first District Wide Festival held in years, the event helped to foster deeper connections between students of all ages through music. For more information on this event or others that the FHS music department is hosting, follow the @fhs_riverhawk_band page on Instagram.
