Tonight I attended my third (and probably last, since my Junior Child is now an eighth grader, and will move on to high school in the fall) “Fine Arts Festival” at a middle school in West County.

These are get-there-early events, in which demand for parking swiftly overtakes supply, and chairs near the front — the better to play videographer, my dear — are greatly sought. There’s a bake sale, and a refreshment stand, and a silent auction with a wide range of items on offer. The whole affair’s a fundraiser for the fine arts programs at the school; our tax dollars don’t go as far as they should.

I caught the brief (15 minutes from entrance to end) performances by four ensembles. First came the 6th grade choir, with the boys trying to sing an octave below where most of them still should have been by nature. They were accompanied by a prerecorded piano: choir karaoke. Then came the sixth and eighth grade orchestras, and in between them the eighth grade band.

You can see and hear the difference that two years make — particularly, in the case of the string orchestras, in things like tuning. But a lot of them are still children in 6th grade; they’re all definitely teenagers by 8th. The choirs and orchestras were turned out the best, particularly the orchestras in their navy blue polo shirts and khakis. Their proud parents and grandparents — and a fair number of wriggly younger siblings — turned out in force.

Hearing middle school ensembles is not a great artistic experience per se, but it can be valuable: seeing their progress (and you do see it, as well as hear it), watching their concentration, hearing real improvements in intonation, watching them respond (or not) to the conductor/instructor.

It’s unlikely that many of these students will go on to careers in music, but they’ll benefit from it anyway: from learning to read music, learning to follow a score and a leader, learning to blend, learning to hear themselves and those around them — and, perhaps, by gaining a sense of the absolute joy of making music.