Joseph Gibbs stepped out of the choir room and into the band room this year at Patrick M. Villano School. As the new instrumental band teacher, Gibbs gives group lessons to all students who play an instrument.

“I hope to ignite a new community appreciation for the music department here,” Gibbs explained. “I want to help put on concerts that draw not just the entire school, but the whole Emerson community.”

Gibbs hopes to add more performance opportunities for the students, like how the 5th grade flutes played some holiday carols at the senior center.

“Keep on the look out for band trips in the future. We also have big plans for this year’s (2024) spring concert,” Gibbs said.

Band instruments include the trumpet, trombone, percussion, flutes, clarinets, euphonium and saxophones. Fifth-grader Theo Duffy plays trumpet.

“I was interested in band because my mom told me to try it out,” Duffy said. “I picked the trumpet because I watched a Louis Armstrong documentary and thought the trumpet was cool.”

Duffy is in the concert band with fellow fifth-grader, Lincoln Bahng. Bahng plays saxophone.

“It all started with a game called Fortnite, and one of the characters was doing a dance, and the character was playing the saxophone,” Bahng explained, “and I liked it so much, and I wanted to play it.”

Students can choose to be in beginner band in fourth-grader. Then, they can move to concert band in fifth-grade. Some sixth-graders opt to play in the school’s jazz band.