Band

Beginner Band

The 6^th grade students have the option to be part of the first year Beginner Band that meets during their Elementary Enrichment time. During this time, students will learn the basics of how to assemble their instruments and how to make the best sound possible. They perform three times yearly; at the First Performance National Day of Celebration on the third Thursday in November, at our Winter Concert in December, and at our Spring Concert in April. If you would like more information on how to become a part of the Puckett Beginning Band, please email Mr. Parks at jus506@rcsd.ms. Here you will find additional information about what band is, instrument demonstrations, interviews from parents and students about their experience with band, as well as an instrument matching tool and an interest form.

 

Intermediate Band

Once students have completed Beginning Band, they are placed into the second year Intermediate Band where they will continue to work on more instrumental and music skills to prepare them for playing with the Advanced Band once they complete their second year of band. They perform twice yearly at our Winter Concert in December and at our Spring Concert in April.

 

Advanced Band

The Advanced Band is comprised of 8^th graders through Seniors that have been a part of the band for at least two years. The Advanced Band has two different seasons: marching season with the Pride of the Pack Marching Band, and concert season. The Pride of the Pack Marching Band performs weekly at all football games. They also have several opportunities to travel around the state to compete in Marching Band Evaluations. This gives students the opportunity not only to travel to places they have never been, but it also allows them to meet and make friends with other band students across the state. The students perform the field show they have been preparing since June for three judges who have many years of experience in the marching band side of things. Some of these Marching Band Evaluations are the CD Hagan Invitational hosted by Brandon High School, the MHSAA State Marching Evaluation hosted by Pearl High School, Groovin’ in the Grove, hosted by Oak Grove High School, along with several others. The Advanced Band has several performances throughout the year, starting with the Winter Concert in December. In the spring, the Advanced Band also has several concert band evaluations that they have the option to attend such as the MHSAA State Concert Evaluation hosted by Pearl High School, the Central Mississippi Concert Band Festival hosted by Ridgeland High School, and the Dr. Joe Barry Mullins Concert Festival hosted by Grenada High School. At these concert band evaluations, students perform the music they have been working on since November for three esteemed judges who have years of experience in the band world. There is also a sight-reading portion of the evaluation which allows the judges to see how the students adapt to only having a mere ten minutes to look over and work through a piece before performing it. As daunting as this sounds, that is what the years of being a part of the band has prepared them for!

There are also several clinic opportunities for Intermediate and Advanced Band students who are interested in playing challenging music in larger groups. These clinics allow for more friends and memories to be made while continuing to build their musical skills. Some of these clinics are the State Band Clinic hosted by the Mississippi Band Director’s Association in December, the Rankin County Honor Band hosted by Brandon High School in January, the Scott County Clinic hosted by Scott Central High School in January, the East Central Mississippi Band Director’s Association Clinic hosted by Ridgeland High School in February, as well as several Honor Bands hosted by colleges and universities like Mississippi State, Ole Miss, Hinds, and Co-Lin.