A cornerstone of the Mill Creek community, and a major activity for many teenagers, the Jackson High School band program has worked for over 30 years to take students of diverse backgrounds and blend them into a unified sound. But despite this long history, the last five years in the Jackson Band Program have been truly unique. 

In 2020, COVID forced the band program online, starting a year-long process of “zoom band” that had drastic effects. Central to the band is its community and the bonds forged when students work together to make sound; when online, the community aspect of the band was nonexistent. Students stopped practicing, and the program suffered with a lack of commitment and continuity.  

Lesley Moffatt (former band director at Jackson for 20 years) stabilized and saw the program through the pandemic, yet the 2021-2022 school year featured only one jazz band (instead of four), much smaller music classes, and decreased student engagement. Michael Lundquist took over the program as director in 2022 and was tasked with rebuilding a program whose strong foundation had been undermined by a pandemic. 

Slowly and steadily, the program has built itself back up, backed by Mr. Lundquist and motivated students who’ve taken initiative. In 2023, Mr. Lundquist established the school's first Band Council, where elected students work to help run concert events, organize social events, and lead fundraising efforts. Parents have revitalized the Boosters organization, helping support students and fund transportation that takes bands to events like the MPMEA Large Group Band Festival, where Honors Wind (the top band) obtained the top score possible last year. 

Multiple aspects of the band program have improved tremendously. Having only 19 students in 2021, the jazz program now includes 52 students, with two jazz bands and a jazz combo. Students organize jam sessions, practice after school, and often perform in the community to share their love of music with others. Additionally, the new Music Production Club has gained prominence within the school, where students come to the bandroom to learn how to record and produce music. Describing the band program at Jackson, Riley Huber, Vice President of the Band Council, says that in the last couple of years he’s seen “engagement from a wider variety of people,” and “more of a community.” 

Recently, Jackson's reestablished Pep Band can be found blaring “Thriller” and “Seven Nation Army” at Jackson basketball and football games, transforming the energy and environment at sporting events. Pushed into existence by students motivated to make an impact in the community, the Pep Band— led by student drum majors— has made the band more prominent than ever before. Mr. Lundquist spearheads the movement of the program into newer, bigger heights, but often reminds his classes that student effort and motivation are truly the biggest factors for a band's success. He says that “the success of the program is based on the personal success of students,” noting that “the final sum is greater than the whole.” Five years prior, the bandroom was empty, constant sound having been replaced with ominous silence. But now, the program is back and thriving, with students having propelled it to a new forte.