Health & Fitness
Essex County High School Honor Band Performs at West Essex
West Regional High School Hosts Essex County Honor Band. West Essex Students Selected to Perform with Prestigious Group.
The Essex County Honor Band, with 100 students representing 12 Essex County High Schools, spent April 10 rehearsing at West Essex and then performing at the 3rd Essex County Honor Band Concert in the West Essex High School Auditorium at night.
Honor Band Co-chairs Erik Lynch and Peter Bauer said the Essex County is known as most of the "most outstanding counties in New Jersey for music education and is home to some of the finest high school bands in New Jersey." "The Essex County Honors Band is a celebration of these programs and their students," they said.
Find out what's happening in Caldwellsfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Students were nominated by their respective band directors and chosen by a selection committee based on these recommendations. The result is a large symphonic band comprised of more than 100 of the finest high school student musicians in Essex County. Students represented the following high schools: West Essex Regional High School, James Caldwell High School, Livingston High School, Millburn High School, West Orange High School, Verona High School, Columbia High School, Bloomfield High School, Arts High School in Newark, Nutley High School, Cicely Tyson School of the Performing Arts in East Orange, and the Montclair Kimberly Academy.
Find out what's happening in Caldwellsfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
West Essex had five students selected to perform in the band. They are Bethany Hou, a freshman oboe player from Roseland, Victoria Dominguez, a sophomore bassoonist from Roseland, Brian Gieger, a sophomore tuba player from Roseland, Michael Markus, a junior trumpet player from Roseland, and Alec Molesworth, a junior baritone sax player from North Caldwell. The students worked with Rowan University Conductor Bruce Yurko and performed some very beautiful and difficult music, including a world premiere of three of Yurko’s pieces: "Proclamations II" "A Fanfare for the 2013 Essex County Honors Band."
"It was a lot of hard work," Bethany said off the experience. Bethany said she really liked performing the conductor's new work.
"I learned a lot about playing as an ensemble," Brian noted.
