When Foster Garrett came to Malad as the Middle and High School Band and Chorus teacher, the school music programs were suffering from lack of interest by students.  The high school band had 7 students registered when Mr. Garrett arrived.  His enthusiastic approach to band and chorus led to higher enrollments in all music classes and performing groups by the end of his first semester.

To promote the band program, Mr. Garrett began having all 5th grade students go to one room at Malad Elementary School where they could try to get sounds from instruments such as a trumpet, trombone, clarinet, and flute.  The program was very successful, as can be seen by the beginning band now having more than 30 students enrolled every year.  When the beginning band has a lot of students, more students are likely to want to go on to the intermediate and advanced bands and to continue their involvement in music even after high school.

This year’s instrument demonstration event was held in one of the vacant classrooms in the new elementary school on Wednesday, March 5.  All the 5th grade students gathered first to hear Mr. Garrett talk about the various instruments and the benefits of participating in music.

Then each classroom of students came back into the room where the students were able to hear and see the trumpet, trombone, flute, and clarinet demonstrated; then they were able to blow into the horns to try to get a sound from the instruments. Instruments were provided by Summerhays Music in Utah, and high school band students assisted by sanitizing each instrument after a student blew into it. Mr. Garrett demonstrated the trumpet, Jean Thomas demonstrated the clarinet, and Dante Clavere from Summerhays demonstrated the trombone. High school flute players helped students with the flute when Ralph Bennett was unable to be there.

Assisting the 5th graders and the adult musicians were Aubrey Kennedy, Tavin Barnes, Mary Zabriskie, Hannah Zabriskie, and Kayla Wilson. The students filled out forms to take home so that their parents can see what instruments they preferred and enjoyed blowing into. Students will be able to enroll in beginning band in the 6th grade, the first year of middle school.