By Kari Stebbing
Rim of the World High School Music Director
On March 26, the Rim of the World High School wind ensemble performed at Santiago High School in front of three adjudicators.
Our goal for these sorts of festivals is to gain practice in performance, participate in constructive competition with other high schools and gain feedback from other expert musical directors.
The Rim High wind ensemble played “Aventura” by James Swearingen and “Encanto” by Robert Smith.
The judges were impressed with our students’ performance. Each judge remarked that, because of our small size, our students are forced to work so much harder because now each student is a soloist and each tiny mistake can be heard. Each judge emphasized the level of skill and technique that our band presented.
Amazingly, our performance was actually interrupted by the audience quite literally going wild. It was a completely new experience to have a pause in our music where a packed auditorium called a halt to the performance because they were cheering so loudly for us! The glow from our students as that positive energy was reflected onto them was awesome.
At the end of our performance, the students were challenged to sight read a piece they had never seen before. We get five minutes to look it over and then they are expected to play it as well as they can.
The students received the highest scoring possible – a Superior. In fact, they played so well and flawlessly, I insisted the judge give us a second piece to sight read at a higher level. After playing that one, the judge said we probably could have sight read well even higher.
The wind ensemble received a unanimous Superior rating, meaning every one of the three judges marked us Superior. This is the highest rating a band can get. In terms of these sorts of competitions, this is first place. They are now qualified to perform at Regionals.
Save the date: April 29, Regionals Festival, Excelsior Auditorium, La Mirada.
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