Though not heavily publicized, Band’s Mid-Year Concert is worth attending
Concerts don’t always fall on Friday or Saturday nights. Some of the most entertaining concerts are smack dab in middle of the week, like the 2011 Concert and Symphonic Band Mid-Year concert where family members, community members, and friends jammed the student parking lot in order to attend on Feb. 9.
This concert was one of the hidden jewels that seems to have been overshadowed by the Broadway Concert back in Jan. 27. Without the massive publicity, the turnout was still decent, with half of the MVHS auditorium filled up. The admission was free and seating was on a first-come-first-serve basis.
Each band performed three pieces, with the the concert lasting roughly 45 minutes. Up first was the Concert Band, performing “Kentucky 1800” by Clare Grundman, a flute-heavy piece that felt like a medieval march. Afterwards, they performed “Three Ayres from Gloucester” by Hugh Stuart and “Brazilian Folk Dance Suite” by William Rhoades, which was the favorite of the night with dark, melodic beginnings that carried creative beats created from unique instruments throughout the piece.
After the stunning performance from the Concert Band, the Symphonic took its turn on the stage. The Symphonic Band is a much larger group, but their musical capability is just as great as that of Concert Band. “Moorside March” by Gustav Holst was the beginning piece and was executed phenomenally with large dynamics from the Band.
When the song was over, music teacher Jon Fey announced a twist. Student teacher from San Jose State University, Kevin McCullough, was going to conduct a piece.
Together, Symphonic Band and McCullough took the stage with “Abracadabra” by Frank Ticheli, which was an uptempo piece that felt like it was part of a Disney-princess film score. The night ended with a classic inspirational piece, “Persistence” by Richard Saucedo, that has been played by them two times in the past three years.
The end of the concert got the audience saying “that was short” and wanting more from the band because they were that good. Although its not the most ordinary event to attend on a Wednesday evening, its a nice break from school at school.
