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Medford students offer series of concerts \More than 2,000 Medford students are on stage to celebrate National Music in Our Schools Month. The celebration began last week with some 1,200 choral students in kindergarten through grade 12, said elementary choral music coordinator Doris Sjolund. Divided geographically into east and west zones, students from half the district performed at North Medford High School, while the rest performed at South. Performances continue this week for band and orchestra students. More than 1,000 students are expected to participate. Students from west side schools, including McLoughlin Middle School's band and jazz band will play at 7 tonight at the South Medford High School gym. The district's orchestras will join in a performance Thursday, also at 7 p.m. in the South Medford High School gym. Students perform in small groups by school, and in a single ensemble. All of the groups perform separately throughout the school year. The annual programs in March, however, are the one time students from all grades come together to perform, Sjolund said. The events involve 32 music teachers. For the community, the concerts are an opportunity to see the full scope of Medford's music program in one place. For students, the events not only are a chance to perform together, but an opportunity to reflect on past accomplishments and look ahead at what is possible, Sjolund said. The concerts once were combined into single events, but the numbers of participants have grown so large they had to be split into the east and west performances. The programs are free, and are part of larger schedule of musical programs through the month. Sjolund said schools are scheduling open houses, holding contests and taking student groups on tour to raise awareness of music education. Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, Oregon USA