Band Visits Memphis

Cameron Smith - Staff Writer
April 7, 2010
Filed under Features

During the weekend of March 11-14, the Westminster band traveled to the Memphis to participate in a band conference. Students spent Saturday at the University of Memphis playing in front of professors to receive specific feedback. Professors taught classes and worked with students individually to improve their sound.
“The professors gave really good advice and made the piece sound a lot better,” said Sarah Levenhagen, freshman.
“In previous years, we have gone to competitions. This conference gave our group a better educational experience,” said Hugh Jones, band teacher.
The trip was a lot more than just playing instruments. Band members traveled to the Gibson guitar factory to see how guitars are made. They visited the Rock and Soul Museum to learn the history of Memphis music.
The students even went to a real blues club.
“We went to B.B. Kings Blues Club and heard a sixteen year old blues guitarist play. The girls especially liked that,” said Jones.
On Sunday, the band went to an African-American church and listened to a gospel choir.
“It was an incredible and powerful church service. It was good to have the students see something they have never seen before because most of them haven’t been to a primarily black church,” said Jones.
The trip was not all about music. They visited the National Civil Rights Museum and saw where Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated.
Band members also got to hang out with members of the Denver Nuggets and New York Knicks in the hotel lobby.