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Campolindo’s Concert Band, Wind Ensemble, and Symphonic Band hosted their annual Winter Band Concert on Thursday, February 23.

“I think the concert went great. Each year, each ensemble has an amount of growth that’s going to occur, and I would say that this performance showed that our growth is on track, and sometimes exceeding,” said Performing Arts teacher Johnny Johnson.

“I loved all of the performances. The Concert Band gave a delightful performance, and they played with confidence that they didn’t before. The Symphonic Band, the older students, they’re on their way, and they’re on track to becoming good musicians,” Johnson added.

Playing for a live audience is a big step for developing musicians, but also one that offers opportunity to show growth.

“I think it went very well. I was very proud of my group and what we did. Some people did really well on their solos, and there were lots of harmonies that were very in-tune,” said senior first-chair flute player Valerie Rockwell. “We executed the dynamics better than ever before, and because of that I think we produced a better sound than we’ve ever had.”

For some, getting through the performance without a noticeable mistake was a victory worth celebrating.

“My favorite part of the concert was the fact that I didn’t mess up my cymbal part. I had never played it correctly in class, and this was the first time I ever played it correctly,” said freshman percussionist Ava Sparacio. “There were a few parts where we messed up and where we could’ve improved. We slowed down at parts we shouldn’t have, but I think we did well overall.”

“The last song was the most spectacular of the whole concert in my opinion. There was more sound, more dynamics, it was nice,” said freshman SeoYoung Kim, who plays the violin in Campolindo’s Orchestra. “They could’ve tuned the lower sounds more overall. Some of them dragged a lot and some were really flat. I understand that though, because it gets really tiring up there, so it’s hard to get the right amount of air into the instruments, but it was noticeably flat sometimes.”

The nature of performance is obviously more challenging than practicing in class, and the added pressure can lead to anxious mistakes, but also to inspired triumphs. “Anytime you play a concert, things can happen. There were definitely places where we had a few rough patches in our songs, but we also had some moments that were better than ever before, so it all balanced out,” Rockwell said.

“Live performances always have flaws. That’s just part of life. We aspire to be the highest level of professionalism we can be, but we’re not there yet. There are flaws in performances, and that’s something you have to live with, even the top level professionals. This is an institution of learning, and learning to deal with flaws are a part of being a performing musician. Is it disappointing? Sure. You always strive for perfection, and when it’s less than perfection, you wish it could have been better. But we did communicate with the audience, and I think there was emotion being felt, and that’s why we do it. I feel our mission was accomplished,” said Johnson.