Students Showcase Musical Talents Tuesday, January 18, 2011 By Junior Hannah Goebel Michelle Price practices for NMIB, which gives her the opportunity to let her musical abilities shine. - Photo by Hannah Goebel Advertising With school back in session, certain members of the Cameron High School band will be preparing for new band concerts, such as Northern Missouri Invitational Band (NMIB ).  Every year in January students are selected from schools around the district to play in a one-time concert on January 24. The concert is used to show the talent and hard work of the students involved. Band Co-Director Mr. Blake Durren said, “The main point of this [NMIB] is to give kids from smaller schools a chance to play in close to a hundred person band with full instrumentation on every instrument. They may not have that ability at their own school. It gives them a chance to sight read a lot of music in a very short period of time, work with different directors, work with different clinicians, and it is just a good music experience overall.”  For most students in small schools this event gives them a chance to meet new people from different schools and make new friends with similar interests.  Band Co-Director Mr. Shane Jones said, “One of the good things with this program is we learn some camaraderie with other students from other schools. While you may be section leader at your school, when you come here you may not be, so it is a good opportunity to learn different roles and learn to play with people they aren’t that familiar with.”  The ability to be with other students can give people a chance to learn new techniques and how to play with other students.  This can pay off in the long run. Junior Michelle Price said, “It helps you grow as a musician; you learn new techniques to use while playing and how to learn the differences between directors.”  When you are in a high school band setting you can use the new things you learn in NMIB for the rest of your time in high school. Many students return for the band year after year and they learn new things every year. NMIB is over all a really good experience for a growing musician; it gives them a chance to meet new people and learn from them. Every year talented students come together to learn and preform in a one-time concert. Every year the students chosen grow as musicians with the help of their directors. NMIB gives confidence to students and opens young musicians’ eyes to the larger possibilities of band.

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