Can you recall the last truly remarkable experience in your life? 
We’ve grown so accustomed to using the term “awesome” for ordinary things and for practically everything our children do, the ordinary and extraordinary become entirely interchangeable, and thus nothing is special.  Thankfully, a few of us right here in Brewton had an extraordinary experience on May 7 at T.R. Miller High School.
 “What did I miss?” you might wonder.  The answer: the Brewton Middle School beginning band and sixth grade band spring performance. 
The first remarkable thing about this concert is the fact that a large group of students, some of whom likely knew very little about instrumental music last August, were able to competently perform song after song as a unified group with only a handful of months of training. Band directors make this happen year after year. 
Secondly, it was a noteworthy concert because of the skill-level demonstrated by these young musicians. Without a doubt, this was the strongest presentation I’ve heard from beginning band members in the past 17 years. They played with precision, they watched their director, and the characteristic squeaks and squawks of beginning players were almost non-existent.
Finally, and equally as important as the bands’ skill, the audience gave the best performance a music group could want: silence.  From the time Ms. Bradley first raised her baton to the band’s final notes, the audience was absolutely silent.  This discernible quiet raised the intensity of the performance, demonstrated the utmost respect for the players, and was the final ingredient to make the evening a truly remarkable experience.
Todd Ray
Minster of Music,
First Baptist Church Brewton