Band Fesitval

Alec Marchant
Staff Writer

With several superior ratings on their backs, the Mira Cost band will be performing at Santa Monica High School against about twenty other schools in a festival being put on by the SCSBOA, the Southern California School Band and Orchestra Association on the 28th of March.

“We are competing in a competition that our band has a long history with,” “It puts a lot of pressure on the performance and us as performers,” senior Alli Ford said.

Three different performances will take place at the festival. Concert band, symphonic band, and wind ensemble will be competing separately for a coveted rating by three judges from the SCSBOA. Poor, fair, good, excellent and superior, Mira Costa has a well received relationship with the competition.

“This rating means a lot to the band and a lot to our teacher,” ” If we win this we are preserving a long past of superior ratings and praise from the judges at this competition. It only motivates us more knowing there is so much at stake,” senior Jeff Mohan said.

Judges will be providing critiques on multiple basis. Musicality, intonation, tone and performance ability are deciding factors in a big name competition like this. Students from every ensemble have been practicing in the past weeks to get everything ready to a tee.

“I have been to a few band concerts this year and I can tell that each performance they get more confident,” senior Madison Klineman said.

Wind ensemble, with stand out solos from Michael Jedynak and Kara Gieseking, will perform their interpretation of La Forza Del Destino composed by Gruseppi. Leading the soloists in their follow up performance is Sammy Nunan with a trumpet solo in Masque, a piece by Hesketh.

“They have been working super hard. Everybody has been busy trying to get ready,” ” Part of being put together as a band is looking like you have known how to do it forever, making it look easy.” Alli Ford said.

Promptly after finishing their performances, the ensembles will be judged on sight reading, the practice of being able to play music without previous preparation. The three judges will give a number score between one and ten. Then, averaging up their three scores and comparing the average with it’s corresponding word rating, the judging process will be over. If awarded a superior rating, the Mira Costa band will retain their superiority at the festival of the past years.

“Mira Costa has a very prosperous band, we all work hard to maintain the standard that we are put up to,” senior Keira Jett said.

In the same week the Mira Costa Jazz Band will be performing in a competition against other high schools in the same fashion as the SCSBOA festival. The jazz ensemble has been practicing a classic piece for their performance. Switching things up this year, Mira Costa will be sending an additional two jazz bands to the festival, prompting the judges to give Costa a good look.

“This is the first time that we’re going to Fullerton, but it is a pretty big honor, not the biggest competition but prestigious nonetheless,” senior Ryan Chase said.

This school year has proved to be a busy one for Costa’s band. Competition after competition, they have proved that they have what it takes to preserve the good name of Mira Costa music department.