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Bakersfield Middle School

Lakeside Bulldog Band, directed by Mr. Barr, Won first place with superior and won an overall prestigious award.  

On 5-10-08, Lakeside Bulldog Band went to a music competition at Placentia Presbyterian Church in L.A. where they competed against other middle schools and high schools from all other California and neighboring states. Lakeside Bulldog Band performed two songs and was judged for their performance. The two judges were well-known in the music industry.

           It was my first time traveling with the Lakeside middle school band to a competition. During this trip, I also chaperoned a group of band kids while we went to Disneyland after the competition. Disneyland hosts an awards assembly every year strictly for this competition. We left Lakeside school at 8:30 AM on our way to Placentia Church. On the way there, a compartment on the Orange Belt bus came open and we lost two clarinets and some of the kids’ music books. A parent who was following us called Mr. Barr to inform him that the instruments fell out so the bus driver pulled the bus over. Two clarinets were crushed and some of the music books were nowhere to be found! The driver fixed the door and we were back on the road. A few of the girls were upset for fear the clarinets were theirs. Mr. Barr did an excellent job calming down the situation.

We arrived at the church; the kids were dressed in black pants, white shirts, and red bowties. They stepped off the bus and unloaded their instruments. The parking lot was full of buses and kids who were all competing.  The Lakeside Band lined up with their instruments and headed into a practice room where they practiced for less than 15 minutes. All of the parents stood outside and watched. Lakeside came out of the practice room and lined up to go into the competition room. Taking their position, Mr. Barr led them through a warm-up song.

The band was announced and told to take their position on the floor. Mr. Barr led the band through two excellent performances. The announcer thanked all of the parents for their support. After the performance was over the group lined up outside. They changed their clothes and got back on the bus to go to Disneyland. Mr. Barr took roll, making sure, everyone was on the bus, and we proceeded to Disneyland. I was so impressed about how the kids performed. Everyone was so excited that we were going to Disneyland. When we arrived, we split into groups. Each parent chaperoned a group of 5-7 kids

It was about one o’clock and we were able to have fun until 5 o’clock when it was time for the awards to be distributed. When 5 o’clock rolled around all of the schools and the kids met at a place called the Disneyland Resort Festival Area. It was filled with hundreds of kids and their teachers. On the stage, there was a table full of trophies and in front of the table stood more trophies. The announcer, who was music teacher for a school in L.A., announced all of the schools’ who had been competing.

The announcer took one of the tallest trophies and began to talk about how special it was and how it was the most important trophy of them all. He explained that that trophy was not like the other trophies and that it was not an award for best music or best performance but that it was a prestigious award for the kids’ attitude before, during, and after each competition as well as how they treat their teacher and handle pressure. Wow, this means there were people watching us the whole time!!! I had no idea. Mr. Barr even said that was the first time they ever used an award for that category. There were a lot of different schools and sections who competed: from middle schools to high schools and from orchestra to choir to jazz to concert band. When it was time to award the middle schools Lakeside won first place with superior! We all were so excited. After all of the awards were given out, there was still that last honorable award.

The announcer said, “This school, while on their way to the competition, had a few instrument casualties. After losing some of their equipment, they still arrived there and performed excellent. They didn’t let what happen to them waver their performance in any way!” Then he said, “Lakeside School of Bakersfield!” Wow, I stood there with goose bumps with the other parents around clapping and yelling while smiling ear to ear. It was so awesome to hear him talking about our kids and our school like that. All of the thanks and honor to Mr. Barr. He was the one that made it all happen!

Mr. Barr, you rock!!! I’m not only writing this to tell you about our school band winning first place with a superior rating and also winning the highest award out of them all. This is about Mr. Barr who has taken the extra step because he believes in his kids. He gives them the opportunity to learn more. He is the epitome of the best music director there could be. He has patience, works with the children, and makes sure they are happy. There is not a student who does not think he is a great teacher. Thanks Mr. Barr!