The Mancos school band will head to Salt Lake City this May for a competitive music festival after a year of rebuilding.
Andrew Saletta took the helm of the music program for the district in January 2012 after the program had been left without a director for a semester. In the interim, community members taught classes.
"It really did kind of rock the program a little bit," he said.
Since then, the program has been growing, and he has started a jazz band. Its first performance was at the Mancos Melt during the "Puttin' on the Ritz" dance. Thursday a small student jazz ensemble opened the student art show at the Cortez Cultural Center.
Saletta hopes community performances will enrich their education experience.
The band program struggles with budget constraints. Students worked throughout the semester to raise money for the competition, but are still short of their goal for the trip. To contribute contact Andrew Saletta at asaletta@mancosre6.edu or 970-533-7748.