Members of the Percussion Ensemble during their performance. Photo by Julie Yu.
Every year, the Malden High School Band performs two concerts. One concert in the fall and one concert in the spring. The 2018 Spring Band Concert was held at the Jenkins Auditorium on May 11th 2018 at 7:00 PM.
The song selection this year included a wide variety of different genres and styles, some performances will be a lot more upbeat and fun, some will give off a more serious and sophisticated vibe.
The night started off with two performances by the Small Ensemble. Mazza stated that in her small ensembles class she has a group of about 30 students, she then separates the students “into mini groups within the class [to] work all year and learn 4 new songs each quarter”. The group that performed included senior Jenny Do, senior Ronald Kigongo, senior Kaitlyn Kwong, senior Andrea Martinez Merino, and junior Nghi Nguyen. Together they played an original piece and “Never Be the Same” by Camila Cabello.
Next was Percussion Ensemble. Mazza explained that percussion ensemble is a newer developing group but she hopes that they will eventually ease into the program. The group performed 3 pieces, “Triple Threat” composed and performed by Loud Division, “Katie’s Bossa” by Chris Crockarell, and “Bayport Sketch” by Jared Spears. Percussion Ensemble included senior Naomi Brill, freshman Carolina Cuevas, senior Thomas D’Onofrio, sophomore James Plowman, sophomore Ajithaan Sathiyendra, freshman Alissa Schopp, and freshman Jimmy Ton.
Afterwards, Chamber Ensemble performed two medleys, which were both arranged by members of the chamber ensemble. The first one was a pop medley combining “Perfect” by Ed Sheeran and “Say You Won’t Let Go” by James Arthur, and the second one being a Disney Medley combining a handful of songs from older movies like “The Little Mermaid”, or newer movies like “Moana”. The Chamber Ensemble included senior Naomi Brill, junior Renet Chan, senior JunJie Kuang, senior Yuying Li, sophomore Kessya Novais, sophomore Pryanna Alper, freshman Wilson Chau, senior Brendon Ky, senior Thomas D’Onofrio, sophomore James Plowman, and special guest Beebe School 7th grader Alyssa Littlejohn.
The last group of the first act was Jazz Band. They performed “Pink Panther” by Henry Mancini arranged by Paul Murtha, and “Watermelon Man” by Herbie Hancock arranged by Mike Kamuf. Jazz Band includes senior Naomi Brill, senior JunJie Kuang, junior Sebastian Romani, senior Rachel Eaglin, junior Jesaias Benitez, freshman Wilson Chau, junior Leticia Sidney, freshman Sandra Rivadeniera, junior Dijana Masic, junior Salma Bezzat, freshman Jacob Pettigrew, and senior Thomas D’Onofrio.
The concert was separated into two acts, and in between each act there was an intermission. During the intermission, music festival tickets and candy were sold in the lobby. Mazza had mentioned that they decided to add in the break to give everyone time to prepare and set up the stage for the concert band performances.
The first performance after the intermission was by Concert Band. The large group of students in Concert Band performed a total of four songs, “Army of the Nile” by Kenneth J. Alford edited by Frederick Fennell, “Cheap Thrills” by Sia Furler arranged by Michael Brown, and “An American Notebook” arranged by Philip Gordon. Many students from the middle school bands joined the concert band on stage for the Day at the High School Performance. Together they performed two pieces, “Soundtrack Highlights from Guardians of the Galaxy” arranged by Michael Brown, and “Novena” by James Swearingen. Concert Band Seniors played two songs “Pavane” by Maurice Ravel arranged by Robert W. Smith, and “Salsa Nights” by Pete McGuiness.
President of band, senior, Naomi Brill stated that she plays the “flute, piccolo, bongos, marimba, calves, and xylophone”. She first began playing percussion instruments last year, piccolo for four years, and flute for for nine years. Brill mentioned that “[she] was pretty happy with [the song selection]. There was a large variety, as percussion ensemble music sounds different from any other type, and [they] also had some fun, recognizable music from the orchestra with [the] Disney and pop medleys.”
Secretary of band, junior, Salma Bezzat said that she played the baritone saxophone in both the Jazz band and concert band performances. She mentioned how she “played saxophone since fourth grade, but started [playing] baritone sophomore year”. Bezzat “enjoyed all [the songs], but mostly Salsa Nights”, she continued by saying “every year [Mazza] tries to choose a piece that challenges [them]”.
Treasurer of band, junior, Renet Chan said that she plays the “flute, clarinet, and oboe”. She continued by saying that she has been playing the flute since fourth grade, the clarinet since sophomore year, and just began playing the oboe this year. Despite the limitations of instruments, Chan stated that “[they] were able to select many songs that [showcased] the band's talent. From Army [of the Nile] to Novena, [they] were able to show [the] audience that [they] can play a fast pace march to a slow climax song”.
Freshman Flutist, Alissa Schopp stated that she play the flute but also a part of percussion ensemble where she plays the marimba and bells. Schopp mentioned how for the concert they played all the songs they performed at MICCA with some additions. She thinks that “[the band] has made a lot of progress”, especially in maintaining the lack of certain instruments and learning how to control how they sound with the resources they were given. Schopp goes further to explain how they have and still do come across the issue of having “too many people playing flutes, and not enough people playing bass”.
Freshman Percussionist, Jimmy Ton said that he plays many percussion instruments such as drums, bongos, calves and more. He mentioned how he has been playing drums for 7 years, and has been part of the Malden High Band since 8th grade. Ton state that “this years song selection is very fun to play with the rest of the band, with songs that either feel sophisticated and some songs feeling more adventurous.”
Music Teacher, Erin O’Brien-Mazza stated that she likes to base her selection off of the what she wants her students to learn from the piece, by having them practice these song it will hopefully expand their musical ability. Mazza mentioned that the band has been practicing these songs since January 2018. For the most part, all practices and rehearsals are during the school day, excluding Jazz Band, Orchestra, and Percussion Ensemble.
Mazza stated that she is “expecting people to be able to recognize and enjoy the fun music [they] have chosen”. She adds that it will be a sentimental concert as she's in her fourth year of teaching, and have to say goodbye to the seniors that she has known since her first year. She sees the concert as a good time for not only the audience but also the band.
