Shaun Metz wears a mask with a slit in it so he can play the baritone Thursday during Haller Middle School band practice in Arlington. (Andy Bronson / The Herald)

Shaun Metz wears a mask with a slit in it so he can play the baritone Thursday during Haller Middle School band practice in Arlington. (Andy Bronson / The Herald)

In Snohomish County, school bands are getting back together

Masked, in-person rehearsals come as a welcome change after months of virtual lessons.

ARLINGTON — Bright woodwinds and snappy cymbals echoed off the walls at Haller Middle School. For the first time in more than a year, band students at the Arlington campus were playing together in person again.

The school began transitioning to limited in-person instruction earlier this month, and its band classes are now meeting at 50% capacity.

Students are coming out of a year of remote classes, with varied levels of musical growth over the past year, school band director Kathy Medema said. Some kids had no trouble honing their skills at home. Others struggled to find a place where they could practice at full volume.

“It feels kind of like trying to teach Algebra 1 and calculus to the same group of students,” Medema said. “But we’re making it work.”

Medema’s sixth-, seventh- and eighth-grade band classes meet in person twice weekly. Students are required to stay 9 feet apart and practice for no more than 30 minutes at a time, per state guidelines.

Students are so eager to be back in the classroom that their etiquette and focus seem to have improved, Medema said. Spreading out makes it more difficult for them to chat during class.

Masks hang on a wall at Haller Middle School during band practice Thursday in Arlington. (Andy Bronson / The Herald)

Masks hang on a wall at Haller Middle School during band practice Thursday in Arlington. (Andy Bronson / The Herald)

Band classes for each grade level at Haller are split in half and meet twice a week. The days that students attend school in the hybrid model are based on bus zoning, not preferred instrument. So one eighth-grade band class might have twelve percussionists, while the other has just one.

Some of Medema’s band students are still thriving despite the challenges. Two eighth-graders were accepted into the Washington Music Educators Association Junior All-State Band in January: Jonathan Hill on tenor saxophone and Rebeca Lara on clarinet.

Over at Edmonds-Woodway High School, eight young musicians were selected for Washington’s All-State and All-Northwest performing groups: Alexander Aaby on baritone saxophone; Braunte Beeks on viola; Nahum Cortezzo on trumpet; Taneli Freeman on clarinet and alto saxophone; Shinhyun Kim on percussion; Talli Kimani on alto saxophone; Sophia McCann on violin; and Nahome Yohannes on tenor saxophone.

Haller Middle School band members practice with social distancing spacing Thursday in Arlington. (Andy Bronson / The Herald)

Haller Middle School band members practice with social distancing spacing Thursday in Arlington. (Andy Bronson / The Herald)

Jake Bergevin, the school’s band director, said virtual instruction allowed him to teach students a range of topics that wouldn’t normally fit into the curriculum.

Students have studied composition, arrangements and multi-track recording.

“Usually in a regular band class, I don’t have time for composition assignments. But because we don’t have all these concerts weighing us down, we can be more creative,” Bergevin said. “Their music skills might be static right now, but their creativity within music is expanding some.”

EWHS Jazz Ensemble 1, for example, recorded tunes over virtual video calls.

Courtney Sadoski , an EWHS junior, said she’s enjoyed the topics Bergevin has chosen to teach the class.

“An advantage to remote band would be the fact that we have been learning more about different genres of music (like Brazilian and jazz) and really going in depth into those topics. It’s definitely interesting to learn about,” she said in an email.

As a percussionist, Sadoski said one drawback to remote instruction is not having access to all the different drums and instruments she normally uses in the band room.

Bergevin believes the lull in normalcy has had some perks. He hopes to apply those takeaways as EWHS and other Washington high schools start up in-person band classes again.

“The silver lining is that we can look at the music class as more of an art class,” Bergevin said. “It is an art elective, but during normal times, it’s a rigid and skill-based craftsman-type of an art class. Now, in COVID, it’s become more creative and loose.”

Ellen Dennis: 425-339-3486; edennis@heraldnet.com; Twitter: @reporterellen

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Local News

Olivia Vanni / The Herald 
The Mukilteo Lighthouse. Built in 1906, it’s one of the most iconic landmarks in Snohomish County.
The Mukilteo Lighthouse. Built in 1906, it’s one of the most iconic landmarks in Snohomish County. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Mukilteo mayor vetoes council-approved sales tax

The tax would have helped pay for transportation infrastructure, but was also set to give Mukilteo the highest sales tax rate in the state.

South County Fire plans push-in ceremony for newest fire engine

Anybody who attends will have the opportunity to help push the engine into the station.

Marysville Mayor Jon Nehring gives the state of the city address at the Marysville Civic Center on Wednesday, Jan. 31, 2024, in Marysville, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Marysville council approves interim middle housing law

The council passed the regulations to prevent a state model code from taking effect by default. It expects to approve final rules by October.

x
State audit takes issue with Edmonds COVID grant monitoring

The audit report covered 2023 and is the third since 2020 that found similar issues with COVID-19 recovery grant documentation.

Bothell
Bothell man pleads guilty to sexual abuse of Marysville middle schoolers

The man allegedly sexually assaulted three students in exchange for vapes and edibles in 2022. His sentencing is set for Aug. 29.

Larsen talks proposed Medicaid cuts during Compass Health stop in Everett

Compass Health plans to open its new behavioral health center in August. Nearly all of the nonprofit’s patients rely on Medicaid.

‘Voter friendly’ election ballots set to go out for Snohomish County voters

Materials will include some changes to make the process easier to vote in Aug. 5 primary.

Community members gather for the dedication of the Oso Landslide Memorial following the ten-year remembrance of the slide on Friday, March 22, 2024, at the Oso Landslide Memorial in Oso, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
The Daily Herald garners 6 awards from regional journalism competition

The awards recognize the best in journalism from media outlets across Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon and Washington.

Kathy Johnson walks over a tree that has been unsuccessfully chainsawed along a CERCLA road n the Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest on Thursday, July 10, 2025 in Granite Falls, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
How Roadless Rule repeal could affect forests like Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie

The Trump administration plans to roll back a 2001 rule protecting over 58 million acres of national forest, including areas in the Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie area.

Edmonds police officers investigate a shooting that occurred at 236/Edmonds Way Thursday in Edmonds, Washington. (Edmonds Police Department).
Jury convicts Edmonds man in fatal shooting of rideshare driver

After three hours, a 12-person jury convicted Alex Waggoner, 22, of second-degree murder for shooting Abdulkadir Shariif, 31, in January 2024.

Jake Goldstein-Street / Washington State Standard
Angelina Godoy, director of the University of Washington Center for Human Rights, speaks to reporters alongside advocates outside Boeing Field in Seattle on Tuesday.
Deportation flights at WA airport up dramatically this year, advocates say

Activists also say King County officials aren’t being transparent enough about the flights in and out of Boeing Field.

Smoke shrouds the hilltops as the Bolt Creek Fire burns through thick forest in 2022 on U.S. Highway 2 near Index. Members of the public can now view video feeds from artificial-intelligence-assisted cameras placed in 21 high-risk wildfire locations around Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Online feeds from WA’s wildfire detection cameras are now available

Members of the public can now view video feeds from artificial-intelligence-assisted cameras… Continue reading

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.