Schools
Panther Band Trips The Light Fantastic
Fall concert appeals to all moods, and helps a food bank as well.
The Panther Band took a break from marching practice earlier this week, but there was no rest. Wearing gowns and bowties and despite piles of homework, they performed a live concert for an appreciative crowd on Wednesday night, November 16 at . In addition, they collected a respectable amount of donated canned goods for the local food bank.
Wedged between two significant weekends, the concert gave the Panther band a mouthwatering chance to perform for the love of music, in a non-competitive environment. There was the added bonus of having special guests: Gary Jensen, BHS Principal; City Councilman Tom Campbell, newly elected BUSD School Board Trustee Gary Wing, and members of the Benicia community.
The three signature bands (Jazz, Symphonic and Wind Ensemble) each dished out a hearty and robust serving of audio delights. They performed pieces which have been winning awards during their current season, as well as trying out a new piece, Fire Works. The Color Guard was on duty as well, by collecting canned goods, moving equipment and being the face of the band to greet guests. It also gave the a chance to simply arrive and listen, worlds apart from their frenzied pace of assisting when these concerts are performed in competitions.
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However, it was the band who still worked that night. No one was above doing the physical labor since it is typical for each band to ‘crew’ for each other to arrange equipment for the next set. Many musicians even did double and triple duty by performing in each of the bands. Several students played as many as three different instruments, sometimes in the same musical number. With sleight of hand, a flute seemed to appear from a sleeve or a clarinet materialized from the pocket of a suit jacket.
The Jazz Band was the perfect band to prepare the audience for the night. The first piece, Haitian Fight Song, lit the fire as the listener was treated to many solos, allowing the chance to appreciate one instrument at a time. The Jazz Band’s stint on stage was similar to watching an electrical storm; there was good pacing to allow everyone’s eyes and ears to dart around to find the source of the flash. The soloists were also very animated and grabbed the audience with their playful expressions.
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The Symphonic Band went on next with their three-song set. Two of their pieces, Rest and Abrams Pursuit were played with the entire 85 person band to win first place at the competition in October, but with only half the band playing it Wednesday night, it still had the same richness and poise.
The Wind Ensemble rounded out the evening with four pieces. One song was first heard several weeks ago in competition, when it only had nine days of practice. It still landed them first place at that time, and now after several more weeks under their belt, one could hear the ownership.
Their new piece, Fire Works, was revealed to the audience after only two weeks’ work and felt as fun and twitchy as a 'Twilight Zone' moment. As stated in the program, the composer’s love of the drum solo came through as a music piece where he treats the entire Wind Ensemble as a drum set. It was described as ‘good-natured’ and brought images of ‘rhythm, passed back and forth…between winds and percussion.’ This writer felt Rod Serling in the room.
After the exotic incense had cleared the air from the piece Russian Christmas Music, the finale was America’s National March, Stars and Stripes Forever. In it, was the anticipated piccolo solo performed by five musicians. It had been on ice since the October 10th Fleet Week competition, where it was cut at the last minute. The piece had been idling for five weeks and was finally heard with much flair and vibrancy. The entire finale brought the audience to a standing ovation.
At concert’s end, in a ‘clock-strikes-midnight’ spell breaking moment, the house lights ignited and the musicians were transformed back to stage-hands. Everyone grabbed stands and rolled equipment while still glamorously attired. The stage was silent once more all in a matter of minutes, but the magic still lingered.
The band has one more competition, the prestigious Tournament of Champions this coming Saturday at Fairfield High School. The energy felt from the appreciative Wednesday audience, is certain to send them off on a fine note.