The Ecker Middle School Band plays at O'Shucks in Pinebrook. Photo: photo by Marina Knight

PARK CITY, Utah – Ecker Middle School’s Jazz Band played in front of a crowd Wednesday at O’Shucks Bar and Grill. The event is meant to give students a fun venue outside the normal school setting to showcase their skills. Students said they had been practicing twice a week before school for the last several months in preparation for the show.

“I think it is so important to find opportunities for the kids to perform in the community beyond our normal curriculum. It allows the kids to realize that music is meant to be shared with others, and there is so much more to the world of music and performance beyond the walls of Ecker Hill. Also, it is just so much fun for the kids to perform in such an electric venue. They walk out 10 inches taller with the confidence of knowing they performed for a crowd that appreciates them. It also allows the community to see how much amazing work we do not just in our music program, but as a school and a school district,” Zachary Giddings, Ecker Hill’s Middle School Band Teacher said.

The songs mostly came from Standard of Excellence in Jazz (a method book) by Bruce Pearson, which includes: Jammin’ with Charlie, Uncle Milo’s Sideshow, Buffalo Head and My Dinner with Ronald.

The kids also performed an arrangement of Megolovania from the video game Undertale, written by Toby Fox arranged by Paul Murtha.