• Welcome to the Traughber Band

    The Band Program at Traughber JHS is comprised of over 325 of the most dedicated students in the school, expressing their artistry through one of 6 ensembles. Recognized multiple times for excellence in music education, the Traughber JHS Band Program strives to offer the best instrumental middle level music education in the country. We are pleased to receive strong support from our parents, administration, and community as we pursue this goal. Our students and ensembles have been recognized at local, state, and national levels for their work. Many of our alums continue to perform and teach professionally.

    The department provides many opportunities throughout the year to hear our musicians.  Please take a look at our calendar and we hope to see you at some upcoming events.
     
    Vision, Mission & Values 

    Our Music Department Vision
    Music is universal, cultural, and individual. It is with this understanding that the Music Department of Traughber Junior High School believes that every student should have the opportunity to receive a high-quality musical training in school, regardless of grade level, ability level, or background. The goal of this musical training is to help participants achieve a personal level of understanding, appreciation, and passion for music. It is undeniable that music has always been an integral part of human existence. Every culture throughout history carries its own musical traditions. In our culturally diverse society, music is one of the few common threads that link peoples and ideas together. Music education uses the artistic medium of musical sound to give insight into the universal human experience.

    Traughber Band Mission 
    The primary goal of all band classes at Oswego Junior High Schools is to heighten each student’s aesthetic awareness through the musical art.  While there are many secondary objectives that are also set for the students, using sound as a means to communicate the feelings embodied in a musical work is always the ultimate focus.

    Dedication and maturity are required to develop this uniquely human ability.  Dedication because the skills needed to recreate music are both numerous and complex.  Maturity because, once the technical skills are learned, a musician must be patient and open-minded in order to understand and then communicate the essence of a composer’s work.

    Many people go their entire lives without being aware of the power that art has to affect them.  We believe that junior high students are not too young to begin delving into the meaning of music as art.  We also believe there is no better way to accomplish that than to develop the ability to perform and take the creation of an artist and bring it to life.

    At the middle level, we attempt to develop the musical skills necessary to recreate meaningful music and listen critically to both ourselves and others as they perform.  We emphasize the inappropriateness of expressing a value judgment on a particular work or performance unless one can articulate the reasons for his or her opinion and demonstrate an alternative.  A criticism that is unsupported and non-constructive will not and should not be taken seriously by others.

    It would be naive to suggest that such a lofty goal can be fully realized at the junior high level.  We, therefore, strive to start young people down a path that will eventually lead to aesthetic awareness.  We firmly believe that a person who is aesthetically aware will be better able to reap all that life has to offer and to share with others the wealth of his or her talent.  Please see the Band Handbook for additional information.


    Departmental Goals
    Develop strong musicianship and cultivate aesthetic awareness in the classroom through the preparation and performance of quality musical literature.

    Provide curricular and extra-curricular opportunities for all music students that enhance their musical experience.

    Facilitate opportunities for students seeking musical self-enrichment.

    Create a community on all levels: in our classrooms, our department, our school buildings, and our local population; as well as within the national and global community.

    Enrich students' appreciation of the musical arts by attending fine cultural events.

    Create the best possible learning environment for students to pursue an education in the musical arts.

    Inspire students to become life-long learners and intelligent consumers of music.

    Address the needs of students seeking a future career in the field of music.