Braden Bochner, staff writer
The Symphonic and Concert Bands participated in a festival and received excellence awards on Friday, March 28 in Norwalk, Calif. The participating schools all had to perform two pieces: a practiced piece and a sight reading piece.
The formatting of the festival allowed each school to choose whether or not it received feedback, a rating or both.
Directed by instructor and conductor Bill Bradbury, the Symphonic Band performed “Overture in B flat” by Philip Bliss and Denbridge Way for its practiced piece.
The Concert Band, according to junior Cathie Leon, has been practicing “every day in class and during lunch from February until the day before the festival.” Leon believes that the band members were “well-prepared.”
“I feel we got the outcome we expected,” Leon said. “If we practiced more I feel like we could’ve gotten a better rating, but I’m happy with what we got.”
The Symphonic Band has been preparing for the past two months, as well. The band played “Masque” by W. Francis McBeth and An American Elegy by Frank Ticheli.
“I feel like we were able to do a good job under the more demanding circumstances of [the] festival,” sophomore Scott Senior said.
According to Senior, the feedback given by the judges allows the band to grow.
“We were able to learn so much by receiving feedback from the judges and from listening to other groups perform,” Senior said. “It’s a great opportunity to improve as a group.”
The comments from the judges and the support from Bradbury will help the groups continue to thrive.
“Mr. Bradbury called it our best performance to date,” Senior said.