After its recent first place win at the Spring trip in Chicago, band is back and preparing for its spring concert taking place next Tuesday. The preparations for the spring concert have been slightly skewered because of the strange timing of the spring trip to Chicago and the spring break according to, band director Paul Vesilind said. However, they have been practicing hard to learn the new pieces and are “really looking forward to the concert,” junior band member, Nick Bridges, said. This year they have been able to take liberties with song choices and have selected songs that include full orchestra pieces with strings, Vesilind said. Some of the pieces that might be included in the concert are “Dusk” and “Espirit De Corps.” In addition, there has been a growth in new literature being taught and more experimentation with the techniques, according to sophomore Veronica Garcia. “This gives us more to work with in terms of song choices,” she said. “We might even get to play some modern music and everyone really likes that.” All this has largely been made possible due to the significant increase in students taking band. There are 90 students this year and Vesilind is expecting more than a 100 next year. The growth has greatly contributed to the improvement in their quality of playing, song selection and depth in teaching, Vesilind explained. “There is safety in numbers,” he added. “We have the ability to make bigger and richer sound and truly expand on our talent for the Spring concert.”
2011-06-07