At HHS, extracurricular clubs are heavily affected by the pandemic. While this is not always favorable, the students and staff strive to take precautions to stop the spread of the Coronavirus. One offering available to high school students includes the jazz band; this entails performing different styles of music such as swing, which emphasizes off-beat, Latin music. Jazz band allows “students to become comfortable exploring their own musical ideas and not being afraid of making mistakes. The best music often comes from taking risks!” says Mr. Wahl, the new jazz band director this year. Some of Mr. Wahl’s previous experience includes not only teaching jazz band at both the high school and middle school levels but also coordinating the South Dakota Middle School All-State Jazz Band for the last three years.
When it comes to performances, Mr. Wahl shares, “My hope is that we will be able to have concerts in a relatively similar way to what has been done in ‘normal’ years.” Since jazz ensembles are smaller than regular concert ensembles, that means that the performers and audience members space out to follow Covid-19 protocols while performing. The Jazz concert is planned for March 30th, proving that even during these tough times, students can still have fun with fine arts activities.