With the school year beginning to reach its end, many of the band students of St. Louis High School found themselves at one of their last concerts of the school year. POPS, performed May 12, 2025, was a concert with free admission for anyone who wished to come and watch. Steel Band, Jazz Band, and Concert Band all performed a variety of music styles. Alongside each section of the band were awards given to these various members of the band: Mack McKinin, Bryce Buchanan, Skylar DuBois-Kleinhans, Alexis Hitsman, Rebekah Ross, Kaya Munoz, Elliot Carter, and Blake Firman.
“I really didn’t think I would get an award during the concert, but I’m really happy about it. Mr. Lawhorne was talking and then he mentioned a multi-player, or something like that, and I knew it would be me because I’m the only junior playing more than one instrument. I got the Woody Herman Jazz award and I like the ring to that. I felt like the rewards were way different but at the same time were normal. I mean, yay me, I got an award for the Jazz section, but I feel like part of the system was something, I don’t really know,” said junior Skylar DuBois-Kleinhans. When asked what his favorite songs and instruments played were, he responded, “there were a lot of songs we played during each section of the concert. For the concert section, it would be the “Deadpool’s Playlist” mashup. I played the Alto Saxophone for Concert. The Jazz section would be “Play That Funky Music,” where I played a piano in the rhythm section. The Steel Band section was a lot to choose from, even though we played four songs total. I would say “Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood,” where I played the lead pan,” he added.
Senior Rebekah Ross said, “I felt amazing when I received this award. Getting the top award of the night was a huge accomplishment. I’ve never been one to think that I am the top player of the band, and I’ve always been one to doubt my abilities. When Mr. Lawhorne read the description of who was receiving this and I realized it was me, I almost started crying. I’ve been playing music since I can remember, and to get the John Phillip Sousa award at my last concert just gave me a huge rush of confidence. I felt pretty good about the awards as a whole. I feel everyone got what they deserved, and I feel they were chosen fairly.” When asked about her favorite songs and instruments, she responded, “In Jazz band, we played “Proud Mary”, “Play That Funky Music”, and “In the Midnight Hour.” In the concert band, we played “At the Movies” with Danny Elfman and “Deadpool’s Playlist.” Finally, I played “Don’t Let me be Misunderstood” with the Steel Band on my trumpet. I don’t know if I could pick a favorite, but I really enjoyed “Danny Elfman” and “Proud Mary” just because they’re super fun. In all of the songs I played my trumpet.”
