Band and Strings classes at Los Cerritos meet daily during the school day, not at lunch or before/after school. Students taking any "A" Period class can take more than one elective in their daily schedule. Many students take band AND strings, or band AND choir. All of the students in Jazz Band are concurrently enrolled in the Advanced Band class. Band and Strings are year-long classes.
Beginning Band
Beginning Band is open to all students in 6th, 7th and 8th grades who want to learn a band instrument. This class is for students with no experience at all (or one year or less of elementary band). Instruments offered include flute, oboe, bassoon, clarinet, saxophone, trumpet, french horn, trombone, euphonium, tuba and percussion (percussionists learn mallet instruments such as marimba, xylophone, vibraphone and bells, as well as concert drums such as snare drum, bass drum and timpani). This band will perform in the Winter and Spring Concerts as well as the annual All-District Band Festival.
Intermediate Band
Intermediate Band is open to all 6th, 7th and 8th grade students with one year of middle school band experience or two years of elementary band experience (or equivalent private lesson instruction). Incoming students are shown all of the instruments that they didn't have the opportunity to play in elementary band and many students select a different instrument to play in middle school. Typical elementary instruments such as flute, clarinet, alto saxophone, trumpet and percussion are offered but students also have the opportunity to play oboe, bassoon, tenor saxophone, french horn, trombone, euphonium and tuba as well. Around 50% of the incoming students learn a new instrument which they pick up quickly due to their previous musical knowledge and the assistance of our experienced instructional staff that provide small group and individual instruction. Students with experience on non-concert band instruments such as piano, drum set, and strings should contact Mr. Freed about potential placement in this class. Yearly performances include the Winter and Spring Concerts as well as the All-District Band Festival
Advanced Band
Advanced Band is comprised of 7th and 8th grade students who have completed a year of middle school intermediate band, or exceptional beginners who audition for placement into the advanced level. This band performs more challenging music, often at the high school level. Typical performances will include the Winter and Spring Concert, All-District Band Festival and a judged SCSBOA Ratings Festival. The band recently performed in its first Ratings Festival since 2019 and received a Unanimous Superior Rating from all of the judges which is the highest honor that can be given. This year's band is also participating in a Soundtrack Recording Workshop at Disneyland. Students in the Advanced Band have the opportunity to audition for Honor Bands such as the Ventura County Honor Band, All-Southern Honor Band, and the All- State Honor Band. This year, we had 2 students selected for the All-Southern Honor Band, 12 in Ventura County and 9 in All State! We had more students selected for All-State than any middle school in Ventura County.
Jazz Band
Jazz Band is open to 7th and 8th graders concurrently enrolled in the Advanced Band. The band consists of standard jazz instrumentation of Saxophones (alto, tenor and baritone), trumpets and trombones as well as a rhythm section of piano, guitar, bass, drum set and percussion. Auditions may be required for the rhythm section depending on the number of students interested. Many of the Jazz Band students play a different instrument than what they play in advanced band although we can also include instruments such as flute, clarinet, tuba etc... This band plays a variety of styles including swing, latin jazz, funk and rock. Improvisation and creativity are a major part of this band class. Typical performances include Winter and Spring Jazz concerts, school performances such as Future Leopard Night and competitive Jazz Festivals. The 2022 Jazz Band was awarded 1st Place in the Middle School division at the Westlake Jazz Festival and six students received soloist awards!
Beginning String Orchestra
Beginning String Orchestra is open to students in 6th, 7th and 8th grades who are interested in learning violin, viola, cello or bass. No experience is necessary.
Advanced String Orchestra
Advanced Strings class is for students in 6th, 7th and 8th grades by audition.
Chamber Orchestra
The LCMS Chamber Orchestra is for advanced students by audition only. The Chamber Orchestra was the featured performer of the California PTSA State Convention opening ceremonies. Mrs. Blake and our Chamber Orchestra members gave a stellar performance in front of an audience of 1500 people and were rewarded with a standing ovation. Under Mrs. Blake's direction, string orchestras from LCMS have received an unbroken string of superior ratings at local music festivals hosted by Moorpark and Thousand Oaks High Schools.