Christmas with the McNew's














































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UMEA State Band Festival

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I had the privilege of chaperoning Ryan's Concert band group as they attended the Utah Music Educators Association State Band Festival at the Libby Gardner Concert Hall.  It was a really cool experience to be able to go with the band all the way from the school (they arrived two hours before school started) as they were greeted by their administrators and counselors who were all so proud of their accomplishment, all the way up to the concert hall in downtown Salt Lake City.  The kids earned the spot by being among the top 15 bands in the state.  Their director, Brian Cox is an incredible Middle School Band instructor and he's taken the school from a 10 piece brass section to this robust program in a short three years. When we arrived at the concert hall it was hard to keep the kids (all 75+ of them) quiet as they could hardly contain their excitement.  We shuffled in to the concert hall and watched three other bands perform ahead of us.  Then they we...
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Spode Dish Factory

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