Welcome to the Sequoyah Middle School Department of Instrumental Music! We are very excited to offer all scholars outstanding experiences in music and performance, and are thrilled that you are interested in learning more about our program.

The purpose of this music program is not to create professional musicians, but to develop productive and responsible, open-minded scholars who have the ability to think both critically and creatively. A quality arts education seeks to develop the whole child. Countless studies have been conducted on the profound impact that a music education has on a child both developmentally, and academically across all disciplines. I encourage you to view this research by visiting NAMMFoundation.org for more information!

The Instrumental Music Department at Sequoyah Middle School is directed by Chris Leslie with percussion teaching assistance from Eric Parchen, and is made up of two different components: Band (brass, woodwinds, and percussion) and Orchestra. Anytime you hear or see the words instrumental music, it is referring to one of these two groups. Within each of these two groups are several performing ensembles that rehearse and perform at different times inside and outside of the school day, and at different times of the year. Students may be a part of one or more of these ensembles. We encourage you to learn more about these performing ensembles by selecting from the band and orchestra drop down menus located in the navigation bar above.

Why Music?

The National Association of Middle School Principals states that 66% of all college freshman drop out in their first year. In contrast, 96% of band students graduate from higher education.

Music students average 66 points higher on their SAT than their peers who are not involved in music.

The #1 undergraduate major for students applying to medical school is music… second to Pre Med. 🙂

96% of American astronauts studied the fine arts in school, including Neil Armstrong who played the euphonium!

Admission criteria into most major universities recommend participation in an extracurricular activity through senior year of high school.

What a great activity to choose!

To learn how you can support music education at Sequoyah Middle School, please contact Chris Leslie at cleslie@fwps.org