Campolindo hosted its second concert of the year on November 16 in the CPAC. The concert centered around its theme, Visions of Americana, which had the band playing orchestral folk music from centuries past. Through this concert, the musicians also hoped to raise funds for future musical ventures in Southern California and even the opportunity to play at Disney.
The concert band began the performance by playing old country music which emphasized the theme of pioneering and the natural beauty of America. They played Douglas Wagner’s “High Sierras”, Frank Ticheli’s “Shenandoah”, and Julie Giroux’s “When Country Comes to Town”. The band demonstrated a new level of cohesion that emphasized their extensive opportunity to work with and get to know each other in the band. Freshman Clementine Damon-Espinas noted that “the concert went a lot better than [their] last concert because they had gotten adjusted to Ms. Barnett’s conducting style and each other as a group.”
Next, the String Orchestra continued the folk-music performance by playing a unique arrangement of pieces which even included the use of percussion instruments in Rick Hirsch’s piece, “Grand Central”. The most significant moment in the String Orchestra’s performance was sophomore Danny Dang’s violin solo where he improvised 32 bars during Grand Central and left the audience in awe. “I prepared a couple of patterns and I was able to put them together,” Duong said. The orchestra focused on the subtle aspects of their pieces including “specific thumb position,” said senior Winston Li, which definitely enhanced the performance.
Finally, the Wind Ensemble incorporated more modern pieces into their performance with their performance of Manhattan Beach March, October, and finished with Metroplex, which highlights the various aspects of New York City from the vibrant club scene to the bustling city streets. Junior Clara Sanchez, who played a significant alto saxophone solo during the performance, noted that the “people were more excited and prepared with the music and enjoyed the song choices as well.” The love for the song choices showed through and the Wind Ensemble finished the concert on a strong note. Sanchez stated that their continuous improvement would allow for “a lot of possibilities for the future.”
