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   Who would want to go on a trip full of driving, concerts, sleeping, and more concerts? For the students in Oakton band, their two day trip on November 15 and 16 included exactly that.

   Oakton’s band was selected for the highly prestigious Virginia Music Educators Association conference to play an array of music for other music educators to listen to. While this trip was not a competition where the band was playing for a superior ranking or good score, the goal was to play an arrangement of music so that other band directors from across the state could hear what the arrangement was like. Dr. B chose the music that the band would play, ranging from an elementary school piece (“Snooze Alarm”) and a grade 6 (“The Night Before Christmas”). According to Emily Jorgensen (12), an oboist who has been a part of band since freshman year, “It was really a wide range so that all different band directors could hear something that their own band could play.” The Oakton band started preparing the pieces they would play during the first week of school, in addition to their preparation for the marching band season.

   After leaving school on Wednesday morning, the bus loaded with students and instruments drove down to the Homestead, in more southern Virginia. However, on the way down, the band had two practice concerts, at UVA and JMU to get used to the different rooms because the sounds waves bounce off differently.

   While the concert at the Homestead was not a standard concert, with judges giving feedback and critique on their performance, the band still get some remarks from directors who had been listening. As a matter of fact, Dr. V himself even complimented the band, which apparently does not happen that often.

   Since VMEA is such a prestigious event to be a part of, Oakton has at least 5 years before they are eligible to be a part of it again. Overall, the trip was tiring, but, “being at VMEA was really cool, and the performance was good and everyone enjoyed it,” Jorgensen said.

   Looking forward, the Oakton band has a Tiny Tots/Holiday Extravaganza concert on December 8. The concert is geared towards kids, and their is admission, but the money earned is used as a fundraiser. “The holiday concert is going to be pretty lit, so people should definitely come,” said Jorgensen. While the band might not currently get all the attention and credit it deserves, attending the holiday concert is one way to show them support.