MISSOULA — Next week, musically-minded eighth grade students are turning the beat around — all the way from the Hellgate Elementary School District to Spokane to play the National Association for Music Education’s All Northwest Music Conference.
“This will be one of the biggest things they perform at probably in their whole lives,” said band teacher, Kristen Guidoni. “It’s just such a huge honor.”
The National Association for Music Education invites only a few to play at the annual conference, which features music educators, bands and choirs of all ages from all across Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, Oregon, Washington and Alaska.
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The event has been a goal for the Hellgate band for years.
“My students, when they were in fifth grade, I went home after the first month of teaching them and I said ‘These kids are so special and when they get into seventh and eighth grade I'm gonna audition them for All Northwest,’” Guidoni said.
This fall, the band found out they were selected. While it is their first trip, for Guidoni, it’s an encore.
“When I was a high schooler, I went to All Northwest with my high school band. My high school band teacher really inspired me and I always knew when I became a band teacher I wanted to take my students to it as well,” she said.
Since trading in her trumpet to teach, Guidoni has transformed the music program at Hellgate. Band enrollment has surged in her eight years at the school.
“I got to this school and I was like ‘There's so much potential to have this huge band program, to make kids feel welcome and inspired,’” she said. “When I got here, it was like 10 kids in each band and now we have like 70 to like 50 in each band.”
Her dedication is paying off. The band plays lots of school events and, now, is even going to demonstrate what they have learned in her class to help educate other music teachers at the conference.
“It’s now cool to be in band, which is really awesome,” Guidoni said. “It really has been my dream job. I mean, I say it all the time, my students are the best. They inspire me every day.”
