The band kids passed around a potato and took bites out of it? And stabbed it with a pencil? No surprise there.
The District 5 District Band festival was held at Hopewell High School January 11–13, and the band of 145 students were under the direction of Dr. Travis J. Weller, the music director at Messiah University.
Beaver was represented by seniors Cailin Downer (flute) and Anthony Tabone (bassoon), as well as junior Josh Dahma (tuba)
Buckle up, because all the schools that make up District 5 include: Ambridge, Beaver Area, Beaver County Christian, Beaver Falls, Blackhawk, Butler, Central Valley, Commodore Perry, Freedom, Greenville, Grove City, Hickory, Hopewell, Karns City, Knoch, Lakeview, Laurel, Lincoln, Mars, Mercer, Mohawk, Moniteau, Neshannock, New Brighton, New Castle, North Catholic, Reynolds, Rochester, Seneca Valley, Sharon, Sharpsville, Shenango, Slippery Rock, South Side, Union, West Middlesex, Western Beaver, and Wilmington.
Whew!
To qualify for District Band student musicians must score high enough at the Honors Band audition (which was held in November) and have a recommendation from their band director.
The first night of the festival, Thursday, were auditions. Students received all eight pieces of concert music before winter break and prepared them for the concert. For the audition, these exact songs were used.
Judges selected two passages from the music to judge the students’ performance. The scores from this audition determined chair placement (first chair means you scored highest amongst your peers) as well as selecting who would advance on to the Region Band festival.
Region Band includes our district, District 5, as well as all the schools from Pittsburgh, known as District 1. Only the top third of each instrument section advances from Districts to Regions.
Two Beaver Area students advanced to the Region level: Dahma (tuba) and senior Tabone (bassoon).
After the initial night of auditions and pizza in the cafeteria, students returned Friday morning for the “long haul” day, when most of the deep work is done on the music. Tearing apart the melodies, listening for harmonies, and really nailing all those notes for 100% accuracy takes place during the numerous hours of playing.
Saturday morning, everyone returned for one final practice session—and on this morning, one of the song’s composers made a special appearance. Students got the opportunity to hear a personal story from Mark Surovchak about what led him to write this piece, as he fine tuned it just to his liking. He shared the stories of heartbreak, and his experience of reaching out for help with the use of therapy.
At the banquet lunch, many students strayed away from the infamous PMEA chicken as the medals were passed around. It’s all worth it when you get a shiny pin.
Some students at the festival commuted back and forth via school van for the festival (as Beaver Area students did), while others stayed at the Hilton Garden Inn near the airport.
One of those students was Tyler Hiles, a senior alto saxophone player from Karns City.
He described the hotel in one word: “loud.”
Reflecting on the festival and experience, he shared, “I learned to listen to the ensemble around me more and learned a lot of life lessons from Dr. Weller and [the composer of one of our songs] Mark Surovchak. The most memorable part of the festival was definitely when they passed the potatoes around and then got them to Dr. Weller.”
Just about every phone on the stage went into the air to snap a picture of conductor Dr. Weller holding aloft a potato affectionately called “Spud 2.0” which had been passed around the ensemble, suffering two bites (Yes. Bites.) and a stab wound from a pencil before it reached Dr. Weller.
Oh, band kids.
In addition to wanting to attend festivals and take a chomp out of a potato when hungry during a five-hour rehearsal session, or playing a quick game of Uno on the floor, students have their reasons for wanting to attend festivals like this.
Hiles shared, “I wanted to attend the festival to meet more musicians and be able to compare my skills to other great musicians.”
Tabone echoed this sentiment: “I love playing music, and the challenge and the wide variety of music we play at these festivals is amazing. It introduces me to different types of music, and the stories that some of these songs tell is really what drives me to keep playing and participating in these festivals.”
Despite the grueling hours of approximately 12 hours on stage and playing every day, students still find the joys of music and the community that surrounds them.
Tabone stated, “I’ve hung out with the same two bassoonists the past three years, and it is so much fun to catch up with them and see what they are up to. It is also so much fun to talk with the other sections and listen to what they like to do with both music and other activities.”
Dahma shared similar feelings about being part of the honors band community and having participated in several festivals during his high school career.
“The opportunity [is the best part]. I have met so many knowledgeable people and have made personal connections with college professors and gotten advice from them. I love taking advantage of learning from people who are there to teach you.”
Dahma shared with anyone who considers participating in this festival, or any others like it, to “never doubt yourself.” Auditions don’t define you as a person . . . a message shared frequently throughout the festival.
Many students who participated in this festival will also be playing at the District Orchestra festival hosted by Hickory High School in Hermitage, PA in early February.