Pride, Tradition, Excellence
Kearsley Bands
The Kearsley Band Program is proud to offer musical opportunities to students in grades 6-12. Our current performance opportunities include Beginning Band, Advanced Band, Symphonic Band, Wind Ensemble, Marching Band, Pep Band, and Jazz Band.
Beginning Band
Beginning Band members are 6th and 7th graders who have not been in band before. It is a class offered at Armstrong Middle School. Students are split up into two classes - Beginning Brass and Beginning Woodwinds/Percussion - that perform four concerts per year as a single combined group.
Advanced Band
Students in Advanced Band are in grades 7 and 8 who have successfully completed a year of Beginning Band. This ensemble performs in three concerts a year plus band festival. They also perform an annual holiday recruitment concert at Fiedler Elementary School.
Symphonic Band
Symphonic Band is a class offered at Kearsley High School for students in grades 9-12. This group performs two concerts a year plus band festival, and combines with the Wind Ensemble to form the Kearsley Marching Band and Commencement Band.
Wind Ensemble
The Wind Ensemble is the top performing group of the Kearsley Bands. It is a class offered at Kearsley High School for students in grades 10-12 that have successfully completed an audition. This group performs two concerts a year plus band festival, and combines with the Symphonic Band to form the Kearsley Marching Band and Commencement Band.
Marching Band
The Marching Band is the largest ensemble in the Kearsley Band Program. It is comprised of all band students in 9th-12th grade. This ensemble rehearses as two separate groups during the school day (Symphonic Band and Wind Ensemble) and together on Tuesday nights from 6-8. The Marching Band performs at all home football games and at marching band festival in October.
Pep Band
The Pep Band is a continuation of the Marching Band. Comprised of the Symphonic Band and Wind Ensemble, this group performs at home varsity basketball games on Friday nights.
Jazz Band
The Jazz Band is open to all students in Advanced Band, Symphonic Band, and Wind Ensemble. Rehearsals are after school from 2:30-3:30 on Mondays and Wednesdays in the high school band room. This ensemble performs at the first and last concerts of the year. They also hold a Jazz Dinner event in the spring, which helps raise money for the band program.
Our Director
Ms. Phelps has been the Director of Bands for Kearsley Community Schools since 2017. She runs both the Armstrong Middle School Band Program and the Kearsley High School Band Program, including the marching band and an after school jazz band. Since she began her tenure, her students have earned top ratings at festivals; several have gone on to participate in collegiate musical ensembles.
Before landing her dream job, she attended Central Michigan University, where she earned her Bachelor of Music Education and Bachelor of Music in Clarinet degrees. While at CMU, Ms. Phelps performed with the top student ensembles, including the Symphonic Wind Ensemble; the Symphony Orchestra, where she served four consecutive semesters as Principal Clarinet; and the Chippewa Marching Band, where she served three seasons as part of the leadership team. In addition to her performance experience, she was also an active member of the CMU chapters of National Association for Music Education and Kappa Kappa Psi, Honorary Band Fraternity.
