As the curtains opened, the stage rose to glory with glimmers of brasses, woodwinds, and percussion. On Thursday, May 8th, the Malden High Band hosted its annual spring concert, conducted by band director Lauren Foley. A wave of friends, family, and audience alike arrived and anticipated the many pieces that awaited their ears.
The concert was opened by various small bands consisting of four or five members. The first band to open the night was Drain Without the J (Daniel Flores, Amanda Sourza, Imyrah Occius, Nico Sedan, and Raphael Sanchez Martinez), who set a nostalgic atmosphere with well-known classics “Billie Jean” by Michael Jackson and “I Want You (She’s So Heavy)” by The Beatles.
They were soon followed up by the band gurt (Slade Harding, Sean Retotal, Jeremiah Hauptman Johnson, and Deric Tse) performing “Just” by Radiohead and “Little Wings” by Jimi Hendrix. The small ensembles closed with the final group Heatstroke (Manal AbouKhalil, Josep Galindo Garviria, Sorin Mamouzette, Sean Cochran, and Nick Li), who played “Buddy Holly” by Weezer and “GESHUOU” by INOHA.
As the smaller ensembles exited the stage, the lights rose, and Foley entered the stage to thank the audience and those who made the concert possible. She then introduced the next ensemble that would play, the Bald Ensemble. The group performed “Sirens” — the sequel to a piece they had performed during the winter concert, and “Darklands March”, two songs that were arranged by Randall Standridge.
Afterwards, the concert band took the stage to perform “HitchBOT Jr” by Alex Tedrow. Despite the concert band being a base-level class—acting as an introduction to high school band—the musicians worked together tirelessly to ensure it sounded flawless. “From the perspective of a concert band player, I know it wasn’t perfection, but it wasn’t too shabby,” claimed freshman and clarinet player Ivan Zhu.
The wind ensemble soon joined the concert band on stage, and together, the two groups formed the combined band. Foley conducted her large ensemble of musicians as they carefully played out each note to “Pirates of the Caribbean” by Klaus Badelt. Sophomore flute player Anniyah Azhar highlighted that due to “classes and after-school practices of perfecting and running through each piece months in advance, each group was confident in their pieces.”
The majority of the ensemble left the stage, leaving seven musicians in their seats who would make up the chamber group to perform the next piece. Rather than leading her students through this song, Foley had joined on her flute to play “Jupiter”, a song from a seven-piece orchestral suite by Klaus Badelt.
Junior percussionist Richard McGovern reflected on this performance and stated that it was “a very sentimental piece to many of us [as it] is one of the last songs we played with graduating members of the Class of ‘25.”
Senior band president and tenor saxophone player Addison McWayne agreed with this sentiment; being able to “play it one last time alongside Ms. Foley, my friends, and the other seniors” formed an unforgettable last moment for her.
Before introducing her last ensemble of the night, Foley took a moment to recognize her seniors. Calling their names one by one, she highlighted each person individually, thanking them for their time in band and presenting them with a gift bag, including a flower and a personalized scrapbook full of fond memories and messages from their peers.
“Seeing all the seniors being honored just before the last song…It was beautiful to see the seniors I worked so closely with get their flowers,” sophomore and bass clarinet player Grayson Herrera observed.
Transitioning to the final ensemble, the remaining members of the wind ensemble joined the chamber group on stage to perform their first song, “Mt. Wrightson March” by Jason Taurins. Foley had noted the difficulty of this piece and claimed it had been the biggest challenge to learn. Despite this, the musicians had “put in so much time to get those notes, fingerings, and the speed of it up to the performance tempo.”
The next piece prepared by the wind ensemble would surprise the audience with a special twist. Rather than Foley conducting the piece, two seniors, Kimberlee Smith and Sean Retotal, were given the opportunity to direct while she joined her ensemble once again. The seniors had effortlessly conducted their peers through the song “As Summer Was Just Beginning” by Larry Daehn as their bodies danced with grace.
As the end of the concert approached, McWayne took the audience’s attention as she delivered a final speech. She thanked Foley for the many years that she spent in the band, which further sparked her love for music. “Throughout high school, my love of music has only grown, and I am so grateful I got to go through all of high school with the band,” McWayne remarked.
Wrapping up the wind ensemble’s final song, “Malagueña” by Ernesto Lecuona, the audience offered one last applause. While many were overjoyed with the outcome of their talents, the moment also sent a bittersweet feeling throughout the seniors who would soon leave. “I am so proud of the band and everything we have accomplished, but I am overcome with sadness towards leaving this band,” concluded McWayne.
