As an ongoing project to help the community, the Cerritos College Music department presented another exchange festival. This time, the Cerritos concert band and Symphonic Winds shared the stage with the Bellflower High School Concert Band.
The Cerritos Concert Band began their April 13 performance with a three-song set.
The first song, Gustav Holst’s “First Suite in Eb For Military Band,” consisted of three separate movements, each sharing qualities that the audience enjoyed.
“Chaconne,” their first movement, was slow and majestic, a sound that was an indicator of things to come.
The second movement, “Intermezzo,” was a big contrast from its predecessor, featuring a brighter, more upbeat feel to the band’s performance.
The third and final movement was simply entitled, “March,” and that was exactly what it was. The band delivered a strong, confident sound, which really got the audience interested in their performance.
The rest of their set included Morten Lauridsen’s “O Magnum Mysterium,” a recently composed piece which featured a very nice decrescendo at the end, which left the audience wondering where the sound went, and Henry Fillmore’s “The Klaxon.” The piece was another march that featured a great horn feature, and even got a man in the back of the student center marching in place to the beat of the song.
Despite their lack of experience in comparison to their college counterparts, Bellflower High was more than able to hold their own that night.
Bellflower’s set had it all, from great sound and intonation in James Curnow’s “Fanfare and Flourishes,” to a significant trumpet feature in Erickson’s “Toccata for Band,” a piece that Omar Vidana, Bellflower’s director, referred to as a “band standard.”
The night concluded with the Cerritos College Symphonic Winds. Their set featured “Eine Kleine Yiddishe Ragmusik” and “Ride,” two songs that they had previously performed at their last exchange concert.
Both songs were a great improvement from their last performance, which demonstrates exactly how much time is dedicated to rehearsing and tweaking every little aspect.
The band’s low brass section was what really made “Eine Kleine Yiddishe Ragmusik” stand out as a great piece, combining both old Yiddish music with Scott Joplin’s patented ragtime music.
Samuel R. Hazo’s “Ride” featured an excellent solo by alto sax player Alex Trujillo and truly provided the audience with the proper setting in order to really enjoy what the composer had to say about his piece.
Overall, each of the performances really had something to offer to the audience in the Cerritos student center that night. The concert had something for everyone, with songs ranging from classical, to children’s music, to contemporary music.
It is clearly visible that the Cerritos music program is advancing in talent and at the same time, doing their part to encourage community members to make music.
