As the West Mifflin Area School District’s head band director since 2011, Jeff Kesser prioritizes providing his students unique, real world experiences.
That priority has led band students to be quite well traveled. Students over the years have traveled to perform at Ellis Island, the Statue of Liberty, and the Azalea Festival in Virginia, among other places. This year, marching band students have been able to perform at Magic Kingdom in Florida and the St. Patrick’s Day Parade in Pittsburgh.
“All of the trips that we plan are to give them real world experiences. And we want the kids to have good experiences and good memories. Hopefully the music department brings them some sort of joy,” said Kesser.
“When I see them being responsible and representing West Mifflin in a positive way, that makes me happy. When I see them enjoying themselves, that makes you know that you’re doing the right thing for them.”
Students didn’t just have the experience of performing at these locations — they were recognized for their excellence, too. The marching band won the County Executive Award for best high school band from Allegheny County at the St. Patrick’s Day Parade this year.
In preparation for the performance, the marching band learned a piece of new music — a traditional Irish tune — which they performed for the estimated 300,000-plus people in attendance.
“The music department and art and sports and all of the extracurriculars are so important for the well-roundedness for the school and the kids themselves,” said Kesser.
“I think the experience of seeing all of these people gathered in one place is a really neat experience for them. And the parade itself is so much fun. There’ so many people there cheering the band on. Just being around all of that energy is a special memory for them.
Plus, just for this parade we’re learning one new piece of music. They’re learning a traditional Irish tune. They have to learn the music, they have to learn the style, they have to learn how to march to it. So from an educational statepoint, it’s asking them to learn something for a quick turnaround for one performance for a lot of people. “