Grand Terrace, CA– On Tuesday night, March 5th, it was Grand Terrace High School’s turn to host this year’s annual District Band Festival. Each high school, middle school, and elementary school in the district sent students to participate in the massive concert at GT’s Gymnasium.
With the festival totaling to about 25 schools participating, it was an extremely packed house full of parents on both sides of the bleachers and band kids crowding the floor with their chairs and music stands.
A huge band consisting of the three high schools; Colton, Bloomington, and Grand Terrace, was placed right in the center of the Gym floor. The combined middle school and elementary school bands surrounding the high schools on each side.
Right before the combined high schools could start the night with their first song Apollo: Myth and Legend by Rob Romeyn, Superintendent Dr. Frank Miranda gave some uplifting words to all the aspiring musicians in the gym.
It was clear through Dr. Miranda’s message that the Festival is not only about the fun and experience of sharing music with peers but also about celebrating those student’s journey of playing music throughout several chapters of their lives.
Though the experiences is what most of the musicians and Band Directors are going to remember for the moment, at least.
It’s an astounding sight to see so many students from different schools collaborating on such a precise and teamwork-oriented practice like music. But it definitely takes some effort to get students from different places onto the same pages.
“They’re [the students] used to different kinds of cues and different kinds of reactions,” Says Colton Middle Band Director Ms. Curran, “conducting a group that is four times the size of your own group is a challenge too. There’s a lot more variables going on, but it’s a wonderful challenge. It’s kind of like taking a sports car for a drive. It’s like super powerful and super loud, and it’s a lot of fun.”
The combined middle school band brought the power into the gym with their songs March from the “First Suite for Military Band” by Gustav Holst, and Armory by Randall Standridge.
Aron Campbell, our new Band Director, was both impressed and threatened by their performance. “Just that the fact they picked that song. I was like, ‘that’s probably a two and a half to almost a grade level three…”, and the middle school is playing it. So next year, we got to play grade level four.”
Despite the closing gap between music grades with the combined bands, it’s hard to believe the middle schools were able to even come close to undermining the rest of the high school’s performances.
Bloomington’s Band Director Victor Torres took to the podium to conduct the best song of the night; Redemption by Rossano Galante. The song featured some very dynamically challenging music, and featured Marcos Juarez, our CHS trumpet Section Leader and Brass Captain, as the sole trumpet soloist during the song. A part which he had to audition for.
Their last song of the night, Where Eagles Soar by Steven Reineke, was a climactic closer to the night. But the Festival wasn’t really over before a few extra words from Dr. Miranda of course.
Following the performance, students appreciated the opportunity to bond with other bands that the Festival gave.
“I thought they were really respectful,” Sophomore Ava Diaz expresses, “It was a good environment to be in. I’m definitely looking forward to next year’s Festival so that I can see these guys again.”
After listening to the middle school bands, but mostly the high school bands, it would be extremely hard for the little ones in elementary to not gain that spark in them to one day also play in their high school’s wind ensembles.
And though most wouldn’t admit it, it probably had some parents going, ‘Man I wish I joined band when I was a kid’, too.
