BY SABRINA WONG
Concert and Symphonic Band students poured into the CCHS auditorium on Tuesday morning, March 12, to continue preparing for their annual district Music Performance Assessment (MPA). This year, students performed at Dillard High School’s auditorium— the south site for the event— located in Fort Lauderdale.
Wind Ensemble also attended MPA, but on Wednesday, March 13, instead. Concert and Symphonic students were excused from a day of school since their scheduled performance time was during the day. Wind Ensemble, however, performed in the evening.
MPA is hosted each year to allow band students and directors to receive a critical performance evaluation from noted experts in the field of band performance. The assessment provides opportunities for them to perform for their peers in a formal concert setting. In addition, they are able to hear and learn from their peers’ performances as well.
“I really enjoyed the atmosphere of the event because I got to be around other passionate musicians and experience music in a way that I haven’t before,” sophomore Symphonic Band member Mya Waldron said.
There are a total of four judges, three for the bands and one for the director.
Each band plays three pieces for judges to listen to. Concert Band performed “Cumberland March” by Ron Cowherd, “Dancing Kites” by Chris M. Bernotas and “Danse Antiqua” by Chris Sharp.
“I enjoyed MPA because it gave me an opportunity to showcase my playing ability to judges and to other schools,” sophomore Concert Band member Jaylen Knight said.
Symphonic Band performed “Burma Patrol” by Karl L. King, “Polly Oliver” by Thomas R. Root and “Chanteys” by Robert Sheldon. Band Director Danielle Singer decided to switch one of the original pieces a couple of weeks ago, so “Polly Oliver” had to be learned and perfected very quickly by the students.
Wind Ensemble played “The Free Lance March” by John Philip Sousa, “An American Elegy” by Frank Ticheli and “Aurora Awakes” by John Mackey. “An American Elegy” was written in commemoration for those who lost their lives in the Columbine High School shooting, but the students personally performed the piece in memory of the victims of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School (MSD) shooting.
Members of Wind Ensemble placed a photo of the students who passed away at MSD next to their sheet music when they performed at MPA, causing them to feel emotional as they played.
“Having … a picture of the victims of the MSD tragedy on my stand during our performance reminded us why we play what we play, and who we play it for,” senior Wind Ensemble member Juseliz Lefebre-Vidal said. “With every note, we put our heart and emotions into playing that tribute.”
The two groups arrived at Dillard High School around 10:30 a.m. and Concert Band performed at 12:30 p.m. Afterwards, they had their sight-reading at 1 p.m.
Sight-reading is when the band is provided with two new sheets of music in which they have a limited amount of time to only look over it. The group is given three minutes to review the first song, and then they play it for the judge. Four minutes are available to the band to review the second piece, which they also perform once time runs out.
Bands are scored based on a five-level scale. The scale consists of Poor, Fair, Good, Excellent and Superior.
Concert Band received three Excellents and one Superior.
Symphonic Band performed at 3:15 p.m and had their sight-reading at 3:45 p.m. They received three Superiors and one Excellent.
While most bands who qualified for state MPA are going during the first week of May, the CCHS band is not participating because they decided to have a residency with the world-renowned composer John Mackey on May 2 instead.
Both the Concert and Symphonic Bands were able to watch other bands play while they were not warming up and/or performing. After the groups completed the event’s activities, they departed Dillard High School and arrived back at CCHS by 5 p.m.
“I really enjoyed the atmosphere of the event because I got to be around other passionate musicians and experience music in a way that I haven’t before,” sophomore Symphonic Band member Mya Waldron said.
The following day, Wind Ensemble arrived at the site around 5:30 p.m. and took the stage at 7:15 p.m. They had sight-reading at 8 p.m. and received straight Superiors. The group returned to CCHS at 9:15 p.m.
While most bands who qualified for state MPA are going during the first week of May, the CCHS band is not participating because they decided to have a residency with the world-renowned composer John Mackey on May 2 instead.
Mackey will be in concert with the Symphonic Band and Wind Ensemble at 7:30 p.m. that evening. There will also be a “Meet the Composer” forum from 6:30 p.m. to 7:15 p.m. Tickets will be sold for $10 each.
The district MPA proved to be a beneficial experience for all three CCHS band groups. It was a performance assessment that not only allowed the bands to work together as an ensemble and play the music they have been working so hard on, but it also served as an outlet for the groups to receive judgment on how to improve.
Photo by Jaylen Knight
