The Wyoming Band’s last performance was a musical masterpiece.
This Thursday, I went to see the Band’s performance at the Junior High. I had thought it would be a quick performance.
It wasn’t.
But it was worth the wait.
It started with the Jazz Band having soloists Allison Ensing, Evie Vanharnn, Kiyana Vasquez, and Rhiley Vankyken.
The soloists did a great job and deserved a standing ovation. They performed the pieces: ‘Killer Joe’ by Benny Golson and Quincy Jones, ‘I’m Always Chasing Rainbows’ by F. Chopin, H. Carroll, and J. McCarthy, and ‘Riff to End all Riffs’ by Bob Turner
The students who performed their solo pieces have outdone themselves, the work they did was truly beautiful. Two soloists who stuck out were Berlinda Pablo-Pablo and Makayla Andrade-Huerta; they performed ‘Concerto in G Major for two flutes’. The work they have done was absolutely beautiful and I can’t wait to see them perform again in the future.
The next part of the night was a sight-reading session by Mr. Gurk. The band was given 5 minutes to learn a piece they’d never seen before. Throughout the five minutes, the band talks quietly or practices with their section without playing.
The biggest part of these five minutes is, you can’t play your instrument.
Yet, the band preserved, and they performed their piece. This was the first time they did a sight reading performance live at a Wyoming concert. But let me tell you, they were amazing. The way the instruments fell together to be together musically, these students are truly talented!
The last part of the night was the full band performance. They performed three pieces that had my jaw dropped at how good a high school band was.
The first was ‘Liberty Bell March’ by John Philip Sousa, this was a light-hearted piece with much upbeat feeling.
The next was ‘Amaranthine’ by Julie Giroux, the song had soloists Zachary Smith, Kiyana Vasquez, Carmen Wiseman, and Aspen Clark. This piece was slower but they played big. You couldn’t tell the small numbers in their band with how they play as a huge band.
The last piece was amazing, it had us leaning forward in our seats at how good they were. They performed ‘A Zillion Nickels’ by Samual R. Hazo. The band recently performed at the MSBOA festival and they ended up getting a 2. The next performance is in spring, and everyone should go support these talented wolves!