Over the weekend of Dec. 14, several students let their passion for music ignite as they took off to their performance for the yearly honors band concert. These Freedom students volunteered to take on the audition pieces individually, and Mr. Keith Kovalic drove them to Westminster College for the tryouts.
The students auditioned on Nov. 19 at Westminster College and had the chance to take one of few spots for their respective instrument. Band students traveled from around the western part of the state for these auditions, with musicians from each school trying out for a place in the honors band. Judges carefully assessed the players who remained anonymous in order to keep the auditions fair.
Every grade level had at least one student from FHS as a representative at this performance. Seniors Emily Pope and Jordan Kester, Juniors Kristy Sturgess and Robbie Raso, Sophomore Brittany Bionda and Freshman Kameran Mayhue all qualified for the event.
At the end of the day, students were informed if they made the cut. After this, they began preparing for their concert. This only gave them three days to get ready for their performance.
The majority of students that composed the honors band were from Seneca Valley. Though Seneca Valley has a much larger band with many of their students making it into honors band, the Freedom musicians were not intimidated, and were proud of their performance.
“I’m a thorn in the paw of Seneca Valley,” Raso said, being the only trombone from a different school to qualify.
Like any audition, nervousness was present for everyone that was hoping to make it.
“[The auditions] were rough,” Kester said, and added that it took “lots of time and dedication.”
Pope, third-time performer in the concert, agreed with that statement and believes “the auditions were life threatening. Only the strongest survived.”
Dec. 12 and 13. were the days that the honors band musicians left school to practice their pieces as an ensemble. After practice they met again at 9 a.m. for one last run through of each song before 2 p.m., the start of their concert.
Both directors for the performance, Dr. R. Tad Greig, Host Director of the ceremony, and Mr. Jeffrey Ball of the Brooklyn Wind Ensemble, helped the students fix the pieces with their encouraging words. They picked parts of the music that needed adjusted and tried to better the ensemble as a whole.
Bionda believes the main difference between honors band and the other county band performances available is the fact that there is “more talent and people who devoted their lives [to music].”
The songs that were chosen were the “Star Spangled Banner” as the opener, followed by “PMEA March.” At that point, Greig left the stage after conducting and introducing those pieces, and Ball, who had been teaching the students the song pieces, took his place. The rest of the concert consisted of “Ignition,” “Elegy for a Young American,” “Moorside Suite,” “Block ‘M’ March” and “Instinctive Travels.”
At the start of the show, the auditorium was filled with spectators and the concert band started to play. The performance started with a massive sound and ended with an even bigger one, earning themselves a standing ovation from the audience.
“I feel like a better player and musician,” Sturgess said after the concert. “I’m looking forward to next year.”