Band concert blows it out of Barnum Hall

On the evening of Friday, Oct. 29, the Samo band program held their annual fall concert in Barnum Hall for band families and other music lovers. After grabbing a bite beforehand from the makeshift outdoor cafe, where band parents helped fundraise for the program with raffle tickets and merchandise, the audience flooded into their seats, waiting for the show to commence. Band Director Terry Sakow conducted the first three bands, with the exception of the first Concert Band song conducted by Mariam Kaddoura, a student at the UCLA Herb Albert School of Music. Giving opportunity to Samo students who have not participated in band before, Concert Band is designed for students with little to no experience with band instruments.The Concert Band performed two songs: “Cabo Rico” by Chuck Elledge and “Infinite Horizons” by Robert Sheldon. The colorful harmonies and energetic nature of both enthralled the audience and prepared them for the next band- Symphonic Band. Symphonic Band played a widely known rendition of the “Avengers: Endgame” theme by Alan Silvestri, arranged by Michael Brown, and “Bright Lights” by Robert Sheldon. Next came Symphonic Winds, with a performance of “Esprit De Corps” by Robert Jager, along with another famous piece, “Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2” by Franz Liszt. Wind Symphony, the second highest band, performed “Short Essay” by Travis Cross and “Variations on America” by Charles Ives.“The composer Ives took a simple theme and turned it into something enjoyable to play and listen to,” Henry Smith (’21), a trumpet soloist in “Variations on America,” said.Then came the highest band, Wind Ensemble, who played two movements from a seven movement suite called “The Planets, Op. 32” by Gustav Holst, with each movement named after a planet in our solar system. The execution of the two movements, “Movement I. Mars, the Bringer of War,” and “Movement IV. Jupiter, the Bringer of Jollity,” was incredibly powerful. “My favorite piece to conduct was Gustav Holst's “Mars” from ''The Planets,” a piece that inspired John Williams’ “Star Wars” soundtrack,” Advanced Band director Kevin McKeown said. In between these two movements was a piece called “This Cruel Moon” by John Mackey. Energy radiated off of every performer on stage, and the audience felt the intense emotion that came from every note. Hugo Maida (’20), trumpet soloist in “Movement IV. Jupiter, the Bringer of Jollity,” explained the favorable outcome of the concert. “I [believe] the concert was successful in its mission to preview our program and give parents a taste of the band program’s true potential,” Maida said.McKeown agreed, despite the challenges the bands faced. “The concert turned out well given the challenges of not seeing my students on Monday or Tuesday with the school cancellation and block schedule. The new schedule has created new challenges to our performers who are used to daily repetition and feedback. We are looking at ways to tweak our approach to fit the new model. Change is inevitable!” McKeown said.The next band concert is the Winter Concert on Wednesday, January 1, 2020.