And the MMW Jazz Band Played On!

Our program on April 9th was a concert presented by the MMW Jazz Band, directed by Laura Olivier.

The group, composed of 24 musicians, is an extra-curricular activity at the school and the members attend rehearsal one hour early one morning a week. The students are all 6th, 7th, or 8th graders. While they were setting up, President Tim had each student tell us their name, grade, and the instrument they played.

They played four selections, none of which were familiar to any of us. The four songs were: “Work Song”, “Ready to Mango”, “Time to Testify”, and “Attack of the Killer Tomatoes”.

The Minnetonka School District has enhanced the music program in recent years. During budget-cut years, the music program was all but eliminated; now the levels of instruction are sophisticated enough for “tweens” to participate in a jazz band program.