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Wed Apr 30 2025

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KUSD celebrates 40 years of musical performances

Kingman Unified School District will be celebrating 40 years of musical performances for the public by students from several area schools, from grade three and up. 

The celebration will feature Choral Festivals beginning on April 22 at Kingman High School (KHS), including students from Cerbat, Manzanita, Kingman Middle School, and Kingman High School Choirs. 

Choral Festivals will continue on April 23 at Lee Williams High School, which includes Black Mountain, Desert Willow, Hualapai, Mt. Tipton, White Cliffs Middle School and Lee Williams High School Choirs. Both performances begin at 7 p.m. and are free and open to the public.

After the Choral Festivals, there will also be Band Festivals beginning on April 15 at Kingman Middle School, as well as April 16 at White Cliffs Middle School. The performances at KHS will include students from Cerbat, Manzanita, Kingman Middle School, and Kingman High School Bands. The performances at White Cliffs Middle School will include students from Black Mountain, Desert Willow, Hualapai, White Cliffs Middle School, and Lee Williams High School Bands. 

In 1985, Kingman Elementary School District #4 choir directors sought to unite the community’s youth through music in the first-ever District Choral Festival. The debut of the district music collaboration was held during the Mohave Educational Festival at the County Fairgrounds.

The event held for several years was a grand display of all types of learning from across the greater Kingman area ranging from the Arts to writing and mathematics to science. The early choral festivals held each March piggybacked on the National Association for Music Education’s Music in Our Schools Month. Still recognized today, the month helps bring a crescendo to the importance of music education in the lives of children.

Music, first and foremost, is a viable art form allowing participants to expand their creativity and sense of teamwork while integrating academic subjects such as English/Language Arts, Mathematics, Geography & History, Science, Foreign Language, and physical activity. Music literacy forces the musician to decode the black dots on the page, interpret the composer’s intent, and add emotion & expression to the content often within a musical ensemble.

Looking back on the many years of collaborative music events, Dawn McGill, one of the Choral Festival founders, commented, “I am proud that Kingman Unified School District has continued to bring the importance of music to the children, parents, and community. Music brings joy to the soul, smiles to the children & parents, and the thrill of cherishing the gift of music throughout their lives.”

Within a few years of establishing the combined choir event, the school district created a District Band Festival, which featured instrumental musicians in grades 5 through 12. Both the KUSD Band & Choral Festivals have grown substantially in participation over the years requiring separate venues for its feeder schools.

KUSD Music Coordinator, Julie Gragg, says, “These annual music festivals help showcase our district’s talented students and build bridges to their next musical steps within the district’s comprehensive music program.”

Each festival presents the various levels of musicians from elementary to middle school to high school musical ensembles. It is hoped to foster music participation through high school graduation and lifelong involvement in singing and playing a musical instrument.