By Mary-Justine Lanyon
It was an afternoon filled with beautiful music.
As the beginning band at Mary Putnam Henck Intermediate School took their places on the stage, Charlotte Ford, the school’s music director, made a startling observation.
“Most of these students,” she said, “picked up an instrument for the first time just over a month ago.”
After they played a piece made up of various folk songs, Ford played a recording of the band’s very first sound made on Aug. 14. To say it was less than harmonious would be kind. What it demonstrated was the tremendous progress the students have made under Ford’s tutelage.
The beginning band then played “Bugler’s Dream,” a play on the Olympics theme, by Leo Arnaud and arranged by Paul Lavender. They concluded their performance with a lovely arrangement by Lavender of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony.
As the children exited the stage, many waved to their friends and family in the audience.
The advanced band began their set with “The Curse of Tutankhamun” by Michael Story. The band demonstrated good dynamics in this Halloween-worthy piece that had a very creepy sound.
That was in sharp contrast to “Pastel Sunset” by Heather Hoefle, which began with a soft, sweet sound. “They are playing much harder music than last year,” Ford noted.
The advanced band’s final piece was “Moscow, 1941” by Brian Balmages. It began with the drums, followed by the clarinets, the horns and then the whole band.
The final performers were the strings, who played three pieces: “Impulse,” also by Brian Balmages; “Moonflower” by Katie O’Hara LaBrie; and “Fury Rising” by Dion Morales.
The audience responded to each group’s performance with enthusiastic applause and cheering.
Ford thanked the Arrowhead Arts Association and other individuals and organizations who made the music program at MPH possible. She encouraged the audience to return in the spring to relish the progress the students make over the coming months.
0 Comments