Middle and high school instrumental students present their first concert of the year

JuJu Vieth

Dave Hagan, Guitar/Band, conducts high school guitar students. Hagan explained that each group of students performs a ten minute set. This also depends on what level students are at. Older students play longer pieces, while younger students play shorter pieces.

Damen Martin, Instrumental Music/Orchestra, conducts high school orchestra students. Pieces they included performed included Fright Night, Curse of the Rosin Eating Zombies, and Idylls of Pegasus.
JuJu Vieth
Damen Martin, Instrumental Music/Orchestra, conducts high school orchestra students. Pieces they included performed included Fright Night, Curse of the Rosin Eating Zombies, and Idylls of Pegasus.

“ [This concert] was important because it allowed me to get back into the groove of playing an instrument,” said Band member Simeon Maples, 9th. Multiple students explain why the first instrumental concert of the year was so important to them. The concert included performances by Band, Orchestra, Guitar, and Jazz Band.

 

“This concert was so important to me because it was my first performance of the year for guitar and our new group. We added a bunch of new students and it was my first time performing trumpet in about a year, so I got to do some stuff with Jazz Band,” said Emma Connell, 10th.

She also adds that this performance also opened up new opportunities for her as a musician.

“Before this year I had to limit myself to one instrument, and this allowed me to play two in one concert.”

Thomas Judkins, 9th, says, “I can express myself through what guitar solo I play in Jazz Band.” He is in other ensembles

Although the concert was considered a success, Dave Hagan, Guitar/Band teacher, adds on to where students could improve for the next performance.

“Overall I think the kids played well, it was a pretty good experience. We definitely discovered that we need to rethink some logistics of how things are organized, but the actual performances were very good,” said Hagan.

Hagan continues to talk about minor issues that occurred, and how these issues can be resolved for next concert.  

“I think they all did pretty well, despite the fact that there was some issues with organization, we didn’t have time to actually get together ahead of time to work all the minute logistics, so I think they did a good job with the fact that things just had to be figured it out on the fly, so they did a really good job of rolling with that situation.”

In preparation for the upcoming winter concert, Guitar will be taking a different approach by having sectionals and rehearsals student-led.