By: Gabe Kleiber

The school band concerts were Thursday December, 15th. As a member of one of our bands, I thought I should give my thoughts on how we did, as well as get some other perspectives.

One trombonist had this to say, “The tuning was bad. Could have played louder and more confidently. I thought we kept the tempo and stuck together well. I thought the orchestra did ok, but the tuning and tone could have been better. Jazz band was my favorite.”

I think he had great points about the volume and jazz band. I don’t play an orchestra instrument so I’m not qualified to speak on that, but I do think Jazz band was my favorite. “Birdland” especially was very good, and the trumpet solos on that song by Cyrus were excellent. I think they captured the laid back, carefree mood they were going for quite well. They had plenty of volume, played their parts well, and every single solo was impressive and executed near perfectly. The band teacher, Mr. Matuzak, wasn’t so sure if they were ready for some of the songs. But many others and I think they turned out great.

Others and I thought that my band, the Scots band, had some trouble with volume. Given most of the members are less experienced and younger, it makes sense. I think we had a bit of trouble with keeping pace on “Falcon Fanfare,” but other than that everyone played well. Some of our songs, like “Marche Diabolique,” were the best we’ve ever played. Given the skills and practice our band put in, the outcome was about as good as you could hope for.

Overall, all the bands did well. Everyone spent a lot of time preparing for the concert, and there were some great performances of great songs that night. This makes me very optimistic about the spring concerts, because I know our school has the talent to pull it off.