The Webster Central School District has found a great way to introduce young musicians to the joys of being in a marching band: the Webster Kidets.
The Webster Kidets Marching Band is designed for students in fourth through sixth grades. It was created back in 2013, and I had the pleasure of watching their very first performance at the Webster Fireman’s Carnival Kiddie Parade that year. Back then the group included about 20 fifth and sixth-grade musicians and four color guard members, all of whom had been practicing for a few months under the tutelage of Webster Marching Band Director Brian Wilt.
But that was a long time ago, and when I saw them pop up again at the recent America’s 250th Birthday Celebration at the Webster Arboretum, I knew immediately I had to post an update. So a few days ago I sat down with Aimee Sevor, the Kidets’ assistant director, to see how the group has grown since then. I was surprised to hear that when I was at the Arboretum, I had, once again, seen the Kidets’ very first performance. Their first performance in the last six years, anyway.
Following their 2013 appearance in the Kiddie Parade, the Kidets continued to perform annually until 2019. And then COVID hit, which, as we know, put a huge damper on a lot of things. Following the pandemic, the band wasn’t resurrected. The idea was mothballed until this year, when Sevor was determined to bring it back. She mentioned the idea to her WCSD colleague Diana Mee, who agreed to help. As the music teacher at Klem South and North elementary schools, Mee was able to do most of the recruiting.
The main goal of the Webster Kidets is to be a kind of feeder system to the much larger, state-champion Webster Marching Band.
“This is such an important step when you think about what kids have access to today, sports-wise,” Sevor said. “In seventh grade, they usually have their sport chosen, and they don’t have time for marching band. So our thought process is if we get to them younger, we can kind of set the hook. Let them try (marching band). See if they like it.”
“But the other part of it, too, is the educational aspect of it,” she added. “The marching arts are so underrepresented (in middle and high school). Maybe we’ll capture some of them, but also, it’s really important that they are learning to play their instrument in different ways.”
“We’re a sport of the arts.”
The Kidets color guard is also a great opportunity for students who don’t play an instrument but would like to participate in a marching band. “If you love acting, performing, dancing, it incorporates all of that,” Sevor said.
PLUS, the Kidets is a great teaching experience for the 18 student volunteers assisting Aimee and Diana, all Webster Marching Band members themselves. “It’s very cool to allow them the opportunity to practice their leading skills,” Sevor said. “It’s less pressure to lead a group of fifth graders than it is your peers.”
Thirty-five fourth and fifth-grade students comprise the resurrected Kidets marching band, including 24 wind instrument players, nine drummers and two color guard members. The directors only started working with this year’s band on June 6, and only had four rehearsals before their Arboretum appearance. But in that short time they learned how to play a brand new tune (“Let’s Go Band” by Albert Ahronheim and Joseph Carl) and how to march and play music at the same time — not an easy feat.
The Kidets opened the festival that day at the Arboretum, and unfortunately there weren’t a whole lot of people in attendance yet (and many of them were parents). But there is one other opportunity to see these musicians in action: the Webster Marching Band Food Truck Rodeo on Thursday, Aug. 20 at 5 p.m. at Webster Schroeder High school.
The Webster Kidets Marching Band is a win/win/win for everyone involved, including the lucky community members who get to see them perform. Try to make one of their upcoming gigs; these young people have worked really hard to put on a good show and you won’t be disappointed.
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(posted 7/12/2026)
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