~ April Issue ~
 

ESHS Band Performs at Forum Music Festival's Judge's Invitational
By Katherine Wittig, Managing Editor
 

El Segundo High’s Band performed in a selective Judges’ Invitational competition hosted by Forum Music Festivals on Friday, March 30, in Anaheim. Participation in this invitational was based upon the band’s gold rating earned at a Forum Festival last year. “I was proud that we got a high score, and that’s what I think the band expected,” said junior Tracy Aster.

Allotted 20 minutes to perform for the judges and audience, the band began with a selection entitled Mother Earth. A contemporary and somewhat aggressive piece by David Maslanka, this song demanded effort in difficult and fast-paced rhythms. “We were working hard and we did well. We were playing pretty tough music,” said junior James Koch.

The performance also included more traditional pieces. Written by British composer Edward Elgar, “Nimrod” is the ninth of fourteen variations following a main theme in a mysterious composition often called the Enigma Variations. Intending the piece as a tribute to his friends, Elgar named the different movements after people he wished to honor, but the acknowledgment had a unique twist: Elgar titled the movements in elaborate and cryptic system. For instance, the word nimrod is a term used in the UK for “hunter,” and the word hunter in German is “jaeger.” Elgar was honoring his good friend Augustus J. Jaeger. As for the music, “Nimrod” is one of the more beautiful and lyrical movements of the overture.

The next and final piece was an upbeat selection entitled A Jubilant Overture written by a well-known composer of band scores, Alfred Reed. The variety and range of styles demonstrated in the performance indicated the band’s efforts to become a versatile and skilled group well-versed in several distinct genres.

Before the festival, the band had given a concert at the high school to help prepare for the more stressful competition. On Thursday, March 19, the students had the opportunity to perform the pieces selected for the festival, as well as several chamber ensemble selections, for the parents and friends who attended.

Preparation for the competition included several months of rehearsals and sectionals, with the guidance and encouragement of Director Steve Fox and several members of the El Segundo Concert Band who give additional help to the band students. “I believe that we are getting much better after Mr. Fox arrived,” said senior Dustin Greco.

The band achieved a rating of silver at the 2007 Judges’ Invitational with scores from the three judges falling in the low eighties out of one hundred. Though the achievement of silver falls short of the high goals the band sets, students and director Mr. Fox recognize the significance of the band’s presence at the Judges’ Invitational at all. Additionally, the band will use the experience as well as the commentary and criticism of the judges for further improvement for the remainder of the year and beyond. “We’ve certainly gotten a lot better and there’s still plenty of stuff to work on. We have plenty of potential,” said junior James Koch.

All that hard work prepared the band for the festival, but after performing the students took a break and spent the rest of the weekend enjoying the Disneyland and Disney’s California Adventure theme parks.