MSHS Band and Choir students performed music they’ve been practicing for almost the whole semester on Wednesday Mar. 20. It was clear that these students worked hard on to put on a good show, and the audience ate up everything they gave.
The band performed first, with one of the highlights being the fast paced march titled “Brighton Beach” which had a Nightmare-Before-Christmas-esque “um pah, um pah” rhythm that was held down by the bass instruments (tuba, bass drum, saxophone).
Another highlight of the night was the song titled “Trail of Tears”. This piece opened with a heartbreaking Native-American-like flute solo that set the tone for the rest of the piece. The timpani drum set a marching rhythm that gathered strength and power as the song reached the climax. This piece overall showed the amount of emotion the band could put into a song, and their range in dynamics.
The choir stepped onto the stage after a short intermission to finish up the show. One of the crowd favorites of the night was the song that was sung phonetically in Latin, “Vanitas, Vanitatum”, which featured an all girl group. At one point, each little section of the group were singing different lyrics and notes, making it sound almost like a round. It showed how much skill it took for those students to learn the lyrics in a language that is not their own, and still be able to harmonize.
The other fan favorite was a medley of songs from the popular musical “Les Miserables”, which featured hits such as “I Dreamed a Dream” and “Castle on a Cloud”. This song was performed by the whole group, though the spotlight was on the soloists, who sang anything from just a couple lines to a full verse. The medley was about 7 songs, so it was a pretty lengthy performance that required a lot of practicing.
There is really no doubt that these students work hard. Both the band and the choir have been working on this music since January.
“I think the kids are really underrated, I don’t think that they know how cool what they do is on a daily basis, they don’t see the change from beginning to end,” said Tom Bruszewski, Co-Director of the Manitou Springs High School bands.
The only thing missing from this concert were the amount of student attendees. Even though the house was packed, you could tell it was mostly just parents and relatives there to cheer on their kids.
“I would love if the whole school could see what they do more often, because it’s a side of the school that is not as well represented as it should be,” said Bruszewski.
But they will still continue to practice; the band has a competition in a month, as well as a trip to St. Louis. The choir also has an upcoming competition next month and some students will be featured in the musical, “How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying”, Apr. 12 and 13 at 7 pm.
By Hannah Tooley
