March is National Music in the Schools Month and for the Greene County School District, music is offered at every level of education.

Activities Director David Wright says the elementary school has the general music program that is taught by Brenda Roberts. He points out that the grades are combined to give foundational education of music with end of the year concerts for the kids. Then at the middle school level, Wright says there are separate band and choir programs – with Bob Palmer and Snowy Anderson as the directors, respectively – for fifth and sixth grades, with combined seventh and eighth grade ensembles, along with a jazz band program. Wright notes that in middle school, students can also audition for special groups such as the South Central Iowa Bandmasters Association Honor Band and Choir, as well as the OPUS Honor Choir. 

Finally, with high school, Wright states that there is concert choir and jazz choir with David Heupel as the director of both, while Wes Anderson is the band director for concert band and jazz band, along with marching band in the fall and pep band in the winter season. He says there are also honor bands and choirs, State Solo and Small Ensemble contests as well for high school students that require kids to do additional practices and some require an audition process.

Wright believes music programs belong in public schools as an important part of everyone’s education that can go beyond the four walls of a classroom.

“I think it’s something that people can do for their entire life and gain a lot of enjoyment out of it. I was involved in band, a little bit in choir, and those are things that just are memories I have and a lot of fun. You can meet different people. But it’s something that’s important and I think it gives our students an opportunity to express themselves in a different manner.”

Wright appreciates all of the work from the different directors and urges students to do as much as they want to do with the band and choir programs.