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Draper Park students showcase orchestra, jazz and concert bands in school performance
Summary
Students at Draper Park Middle School performed a multi-ensemble concert featuring orchestra, jazz band, percussion and concert bands, highlighted by a dedication and recognition of students and staff.
Draper Park Middle School students performed a multi-ensemble concert in the school auditorium that featured Orchestra 1 and 2, jazz band, percussion ensembles, beginning and concert bands.
An unidentified staff member asked the audience to silence cell phones and to "please hold your applause until the end of all 3 movements" during the orchestra's performance, and the program included both Western and international pieces intended to highlight the school's dual-language offerings.
The concert opened with Orchestra 1 under Mr. Widener and included Orchestra 2 performing a Chinese-themed piece titled "Battle at the Great Wall." A separate number labeled "Bollywood" referenced the Indian film-music tradition and its historical roots in Bombay (now Mumbai). The orchestra also performed three movements from the Peer Gynt Suite by Edvard Grieg: "Morning Mood," "Åse's Death" and "In the Hall of the Mountain King." The announcer asked patrons to reserve applause until the end of the suite.
During the program a student performer dedicated a song to Molly and Josh Rasmuson and their daughter Ali, who, the student said, died of a stroke last week. The student prefaced the dedication by explaining the personal loss and asked listeners to think of those they love while the piece played.
The concert program also included a jazz set that featured a performance of Thelonious Monk's "Blue Monk," and a ballad called "Nora" that the program noted would feature alto saxophone by Ryan Leiker and a piano solo by Rachel Van Werkom. The concert director said the school qualified for three state festivals this year — the Jazz Band State Festival, the Orchestra State Festival and the Concert Band State Festival — and noted that, as stated during the program, it appeared to be the first year the jazz band had advanced to the state festival.
Percussion ensembles and beginning bands performed a range of selections, from arrangements of contemporary songs to traditional marches. The program closed with a concert band piece titled "Flight of the Thunderbird," credited in the program to composer Richard Saucedo and featuring Jacob Symester on trumpet and Ryan Leiker on alto saxophone.
Staff members recognized students who had met practice goals through a "hundred club" acknowledgment and asked parents to wait to take photos until specified times; the director said that after one piece families would be invited onto the stage for photographs and requested that parents help students clear the stage after the concert. The program concluded with thanks to staff members who helped produce the evening, including Janine Day for the printed programs and Jeremy Brown for additional support.
No formal motions, votes or administrative decisions were recorded in the transcript of the event; the meeting was an extracurricular school concert and not a governing-body session.
