Jazz band is becoming Fenton High’s newest edition to the list of competitive teams. New band director Patrick Conaton has worked to get the jazz band involved in competitions around the state.

“When we were first introduced to the idea of being a competition band I was scared because I didn’t think I was good enough,” freshman Bethany Grenzicki said, “but by doing competitions, I believe that the band has the ability to become even stronger.” 

Grenzick is excited to see the changes that will come when training to become a competitive team. 

“To get ready for competition, the band and I practice every day both in school and outside of school,” Grenzicki said. “I have already been able to hear the improvements in the sound of our band.”

Becoming a competitive band means the band will be attending competitions on the weekends. At these competitions, bands from different schools will be seen by a panel of judges and then scored on how they sounded and played. 

“I think too many competitions could steer the band’s focus towards winning instead of the creation of ensemble music,” senior Natalie Harmon said, “but ultimately the positives overcome the negatives.”

As the season continues the jazz band will be planning on attending a competition on Feb. 7 at Central Michigan University.