“Hey! We’re getting the band back together”

Student+teacher+Ben+Martin+leads+the+combined+Concert+and+Symphonic+Bands.

Emma Gilman

Student teacher Ben Martin leads the combined Concert and Symphonic Bands.

The OHS Bands held their Fall Concert on November 1st at 7:30 pm in the auditorium. 

Vivian Tedder, a senior at OHS in Wind Ensemble, says how she enjoyed watching the other students perform at the concert. Four different groups performed in the concert: Wind Ensemble, Symphonic Band, Concert Band, and Percussion Ensemble.

Keilani Kim, a freshman in Concert Band, details the process for learning the music for the Fall Concert. The first step was getting the sheet music, of course. After that, Kim explains that the musicians would listen to the song all the way through. Then, Kim would write notes on her sheet music to help her learn. If she needed help she would ask her friends, a teacher, or listen to recordings of the music.

For Ben Yonkers, a senior at OHS in Wind Ensemble and Symphonic Band, preparing for the concert means just showing up to rehearsal and working hard to learn the songs. Yonkers is a T.A. in 1st period with Mr. Curley, which is how he is in the Symphonic Band. But, he is also in Wind Ensemble and plays the tuba, which is his actual band class. Many students, like Yonkers, are able to play multiple instruments. 

Kim spoke on her experience so far as a freshman in Band. She says how “it’s a lot of fun,” since she’s still with a lot of her previous band friends from middle school. However, she also enjoys getting to know more people who share the same love for music as her.

For her first high school concert, Kim remembers how nervous she was. Especially since she is in the auditorium instead of playing in a school gym. A concern she and Mr. Curley shared was that the lights were “unusually bright,” she says. Aside from the lights, Kim says it was a lot of fun to perform, and overall the concert went well.