The second band concert of the school year was held on Wednesday, Oct. 15, Director of the Bands Kylie Ward said. The concert, titled “Moonlight and Madness,” featured the choir, string orchestra, chamber orchestra, wind symphony, and symphony orchestra, according to the concert’s program.
The concert featured a blend of pop music and classical pieces, such as pieces from the “Star Wars” and “Pirates of the Caribbean” soundtracks, Choir and Orchestra Director Emily Moore said. Originally, she was planning to do a dance-themed concert but wanted to add more spooky songs for Halloween, Moore said.
“It just kind of evolved naturally,” she said. “‘Moonlight and Madness’ came out of a couple moon-themed pieces and then lots of chaos.”
Ward believes that music students should have a well-rounded experience with the type of music they play, she said. While having students learn traditional repertoire is important, students should be able to play modern music as well, she added.
“Because it was their first concert and their first set of music they were going to be learning with me, I wanted them to have some extra fun with it,” she said. “Our music library is very dated and we didn’t have very much music that would have suited our group well enough, so I used the funds that we have, and I got music that I connected with. I realized that some of the music I was picking tended to be more pop music or more soundtrack music. And then I just went in full force and was like, ‘Okay, this would be a pop soundtrack concert.’”
Junior Myren Fu had a clarinet solo in the “Pirates of the Caribbean” song performed by symphony orchestra, he said. He was nervous to play the solo but was able to pull it off, he added.
“Just being able to perform is an honor,” he said.
Fu spends a lot of time practicing for band outside of school, he said. He practices whenever he has time, Fu added.
Fu wants people to “just appreciate all the work we’ve put in, and it (the concert) truly is a work of art,” he said.
Overall, Ward is happy with how the concert went, she said. She was most looking forward to having students see the performances and become interested in the music program, she added.
“Right now, I think that our freshmen in particular are kind of intrigued by the thought of wind symphony and symphony orchestra,” she said. “They kind of look up to them, in a way. And so I was really excited for wind symphony to perform for them, so that they have a goal in mind like, ‘I want to keep practicing and I want to keep being in band so that I can get there at some point.’”
As the year progresses, the music will slowly become harder to improve students’ ability level, Moore said. She wants to see her students become better musicians and be able to play more exciting music, she added.
“As we get better and just have fun playing music, I always want them to enjoy what we do,” Moore said. “That’s very important.”
