Everyone knows the classic middle school band with ear screeching sounds as the audience yearns to cover their ears. But Highland’s band has a very matured sound that has allowed them to go and compete at State for the past two years.
Highland High School hosted their annual Band Concert on December 10. All four of their bands performed which are Jazz Band, Percussion Ensemble, Concert Band and Wind Ensemble.
All four bands are conducted by Curtis Black the instrumental music teacher at Highland. Black expressed how proud he was of his students with their progress and talent demonstrated in this performance.
Jazz Band is an audition group that meets to practice before school at 7:30 twice a week.
It is obvious how much this group loves the music they are playing. They can’t contain their excitement as they smile at each other and dance in their seats. When you look out at the stage you can see about 30 feet all tapping to the beat to keep them in unison.
They performed three songs at their concert and honored multiple soloists. Their pieces that were performed were a mix of both jazz and Christmas as they spread the holiday cheer to the audience.
“I always tell them they are worth waking up for,” Black said.
Percussion Ensemble although only performing one song, experimented with gentle chimes as well as loud massive drums as they performed Bring a Torch Jeanette Isabella. As the different instruments complimented each other well with different rhythms.
At their last performance they were seen with drumsticks and metal trash bins, this Christmas concert cycle of theirs was in no way a trashy performance.
The third act was Concert Band. This is a newer ensemble at Highland and started with a bang as their first song was Deck the Halls with Chips and Salsa. With both spice and cheer.
This band is dedicated for a beginner level of students who are looking to learn an instrument as well as learning the fundamentals of band music.
The last act to round it up was Wind Ensemble. This like Jazz Band is an audition group who are looking to push their talents forward. This is the first year Highland has been able to have this group since the Pandemic Covid-19 hit in 2020.
It was many of the upper classmen that pushed for this to happen, and they were successful. They are learning what it takes to make the difference in their sound from reading notes off a page to telling the story of each piece with musicality.
“I love how expressive the musical pieces are that we play with lots of fun character that we can play with,” Austin Clayton a junior at Highland who plays the Trombone said.
Fantasia on Greensleeves was one of three songs they played at their Winter Concert. They were able to bring lots of musicality into this piece as it transported the audience into a new world with both timing and dynamic changes.
Overall, all of Highland’s bands did very well at their Winter Concert. Black was incredibly proud of his students for their performance.
Students in Highland band are also well rounded despite the sharp dynamic changes. Many of them take honors and AP classes and were a part of the Hades Town cast and pit. They are also involved in different clubs.
One could assume that they will go far into the Region and State competitions this upcoming spring.
“I think we did a really good job; I am glad we were able to reflect such great progress,” Black said.
