Marshall Instrumental Music grows and performs
By Ashley Shah
The Marshall Middle School (MMS) music program held its annual holiday concert on Dec. 12.
All the levels of band and orchestra, including beginning, intermediate and advanced band, performed at the MMS performing arts center.
The program’s next concert will take place at the beginning of March.
“Our March concert is our pre-festival concert. The concert will be held at the MMS performing arts center. The band will perform at 5 p.m., and the orchestra at 7 p.m.,” said Cameron Brown, MMS director of instrumental music.
The following festival is an evaluation for music programs at the middle school level in San Diego Unified School District and other districts.
“We host the festival here at MMS performing arts center. We just opened the registration for music programs to sign up. Last year, we had around 11 to 12 schools. However, we have had up to 16 schools in the past,” Brown said.
The last concert, the end of the year concert, will take place mid-May.
“Our end of the year concert is held at the campus, and around the same times, just like all of our other concerts,” Brown said. “The end of the year concert is a great way for the students to show their progress from the school year.”
Besides their concerts, the intermediate and advanced groups have the opportunity to participate in other festivals and seminars alongside other music groups from all over California.
“In April, our intermediate group will be competing in another festival in the Orange County area. After they are done competing, they get to spend the rest of the day at Knott’s Berry Farm,” Brown said. “At the beginning of May, our advanced group gets to participate in a workshop at Disneyland where they get to record Disney soundtracks to Disney footage. We get the clips back from that, and it’s really nice to show it to the families.”
There are more than 230 students across both band and orchestra this year.
“We have a little over half of the students in the band. Our beginning band has a full group with over 50 students,” Brown said. “Our program has finally grown closer to the size it was prior to COVID-19 shutting down the schools.”
Each level – beginning, intermediate and advanced – are based on skill, primarily, as well as grade level.
“Most of our students start with beginning in sixth grade, and then move onto intermediate, and finally end with advanced. However, sixth graders can audition to be in intermediate. They do not have to do the beginning level,” Brown said.
With so many students, the music program is constantly fundraising.
“We have been sending out small groups to carol by playing their instruments outside of local Scripps Ranch businesses that let them. There is a box where people can donate, or a QR code where people can Venmo,” Brown said. “Additionally, all of our concerts are fundraisers. We charge $5 for admission. The concessions that we sell at concerts and festivals are fundraising opportunities as well.”
In addition to fundraising, the program always welcomes donations.
“We would be happy to take any unused instruments for our program. To get in contact with me, my email address is cbrown@sandi.net. If folks would like to donate as well, you can visit MMSIM.org/donate,” Brown said.
This year continues to be a success for the music program at MMS.
“We have so many students interested in playing music, which is exactly what we love to see. We are going to continue growing and advancing as we have been,” he said.
For more information on the MMS music program, visit mmsim.org.
