Pierce Band Rocks the All School Band ConcertÂ
By Meredith Krienert
If you were one of the many people in our community who attended the All School band concert Friday, May 1, you probably still have some catchy songs stuck in your head. If you did not attend, you missed out on an amazing performance and cookies.
Grades 5-12 performed at the concert. Due to the large number of students and their families attending, the concert was held in the high school gym as usual at 7:00 that evening.
Both the fifth and sixth grades played three songs each. The songs “Buns, Joy, and Stars,” “Let’s Rock” by Michael Sweeney, and “Go Big Blue” were played by the fifth grade band. After just their first full year of joining the band, the fifth graders show considerable improvement throughout the year.
Following their performance was the sixth grade with “The Clumsy Clown” by Neil Simon, “Pierce Pounders” by Eric Snyder, who was in attendance at the performance, and “Minor Rock” by Bruce Pearson. The final song the sixth grade band played was directed by Spencer Sindt, who has been cadet teaching under Michael Sindt this past semester during third period.
“A lot of people really like this concert, because they can see fifth grade all the way through high school, but they can see the progress as it gets a little more complicated, they start sounding better. That's always fun to see, and it's always good to give the seniors one last concert as well, because they have awards,” M. Sindt, the band director, said.
Junior high preceded the high school performances. They executed the songs “At The Crossroads” by Robert Smith and “Ding!” by Peter Sciaino with near perfection. Seventh grader Gabrielle Drahota and eighth grader Benjamin Huwaldt were featured as soloists on the triangle.
Performed by the high school band was “Sunburst” by Erik Morales. The song was a representation of the sun shining through the clouds after a storm. “Sunburst” was paired with “Themes from The Lion King,” arranged by John Higgins.
The star of the show was the performance of “The Great Rubber Chicken Gallop” by Randall Standridge. The high school students multitasked, playing their instruments as well as managing to squeeze a rubber chicken toy along to the song. The piece added an energetic and comedic touch to the night.
For some, this was a final concert in the PHS band. Before the final song of the evening was played, M. Sindt took time to recognize the band’s seniors.
The John Phillip Sousa award, the most esteemed in the band, was given to Christian Nordby for dedication and for displaying selfless qualities. Following Nordby was Mya Johnson, senior, who was awarded the Patrick S. Gilmore award. These are nationally recognized awards in the world of high school band, and the two were selected by their peers for outstanding service and performance with the Pierce High Band.
“My favorite memory from my time in band is probably Jared Northcutt forgetting his pants. We were at a marching band competition. So he had to borrow pants from, like, another school” Nordby said.
The gym floor flooded with the combined 5-12 grade bands, the finale of the concert, “The Middle” by Jimmy Eat World, arranged by Doug Adams, and really ended the whole night on a high note.
